1990-1991 HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT:
Paid Political Advertisement
Humanity of the Unborn
According to an article in the
May 31, 1990 issue o f the New
England Journal of Medicine, doc
tors at the U niversity o f
California, San Francisco, have
su ccessfu lly perform ed m ajor
surgery on a preborn child. The 54
m inute surgery repaired a
diaphragm atic hernia in a 24
week old fetus. The baby was
delivered seven weeks later and is
a normal developing child.
This latest advance in prena
tal surgery is another nail in the
coffin of abortion. From the tech
nology that led to the birth of
Baby Louise Brown, the first
widely-known “test tube baby”, to
this most recent advance in fetal
surgery, the unborn baby itself is
an active participant in the battle
for its own recognition as a
human being worthy of life.
As techniques become more
sophisticated, science will be able
to enlarge this “window on the
womb” earlier and earlier. Some
of the finest pictures of the pre
born baby can now be taken by
means of fetoscopy, the use of a
fiberoptic endoscope thrust into
the uterus itself. Beautiful pic
tures of the baby moving in its
warm, fluid world are doing much
to change abortion-bound minds
to make a choice for life.
The life processes begin at fer
tilization, when the sperm unites
with the egg to create a unique
genetic entity for each preborn.
After fertilization the growing cell
cluster spends about three days in
the Fallopian tube and three days
in the uterine cavity before it
begins burrowing into the wall of
the uterus. Through placental
chemicals and hormones, the tiny
life begins to influence virtually
all the mother’s organs and tis
sues. In the small balloon-like sac
of waters, the growing life nests
in the soft lining o f the womb.
This burrowing is called implan
tation. Even before this, the cells
start to organize themselves (“dif
ferentiation” ) as they multiply
rapidly, and all the familiar bodi
ly systems and organs of the tiny
being appear in subsequent
weeks.'
By 5 1/2 weeks, the preborn’s
heartbeat is similar to that of an
adult and is sometimes traceable
by electrocardiogram. At 6 and 7
weeks, the beating of the heart is
functioning and readily observe-
able by the doctor. And all this
happens before many women even
seek tests to find out whether
they might be pregnant.2
The preborn baby’s electroen
cephalogram (EEG) is readable at
three months, and 4 month old
EEGs are influenced by sleep-
inducing and stimulant drugs.
Research on EEGs finds that each
baby has a distinctive pattern
that becomes personalized long
before birth.
At 9 weeks in the womb, the
baby can bend its little fingers
around an object placed in its
hand. He or she (the sex is fixed
at fertiliza tion ) can suck its
thum b and react to pain. The
entire body is sensitive to touch,
and the tiny baby can turn its
head, curl its toes and fingers.
The mouth can open and close,
and might even smile. Since the
vocal cords are completed, we are
told that the baby would even cry
if he could.
In the womb, a baby lives in a
sea o f sound. Researchers have
eavesdropped on him by means of
a tiny microphone inserted into
the uterus. Daphne and Charles
Maurer, authors of The World of
the Newborn, describe the racket
the baby hears from his mother’s
heart, intestines and lungs as
very noisy. Dr. Jeffrey Phelan of
the M atern al-F etal M edicine
department o f Queen of the Valley
Hospital in West Covina, Calif.,
played tapes to a pregnant
woman of everything from bird
songs to a passing train. A micro
phone in her uterus picked up
almost every sound.1
By the 12th week of interuter-
ine life, the small preborn baby is
a fully developed, functioning
human body in miniature, 3 inch
es in length and weighing about
1/2 ounce. The fetus, or little one,
has fingerprints and facial expres
sions. G enetically, horm onally
and in all organic respects save
the source of its nourishment, this
fetus is separate from the woman,
its mother.4
During the second trimester
the baby, fully coordinated, curls
as the mother moves and stretch
es when the mother rests. The
LOVE JO Y SURGtCENTER |
D OW NTOW N WOMEN’S CENTER
Fifth month — 20 Weeks — Portland Yellow Page
There is never “a good reason" to kill a baby.
On the day of birth the child,
already a living and active person
as we have seen, makes a change
in his place of residence. As he
has already gone through many
progressive, overlapping stages of
growth and development, so will
he, from birth, continue the life
begun nine months ago, moving
through childhood, adolescence,
maturity, old age and death. All
I f a preborn is not human,
what is it?
I f not alive, why kill it?
I f not a person,
why abortion?
baby can hiccup, and it kicks and
punches the mother as it seeks a
comfortable position within her.
The baby has fine hair over its
entire body and a white ointment
called vemix protects its delicate
skin from the waters surrounding
it. N orm ally an unborn baby
never exp erien ces hunger or
thirst. But if a mother does not
consume sufficient nutrients, the
baby’s diet will not be adequate
either. When a fetus is severely
m alnourished - for instance,
because his mother’s heavy smok
ing restricts blood flow to the pla
centa - Dr. Jason Birnholz, an
ultrasound expert, believes, he
has seen the baby’s chest and
throat making crying motions.5
Some infants who might be born
during this second trimester of
interuterine life would survive
outside the womb with adequate
care.
Later in the pregnancy the
baby can use all of his senses.
Brian Satt, a research specialist
in
clin ical
p sychology
in
California, has parents sing a lul
laby-like “womb song” to their
unborn baby. The baby often
develops a specific, consistent
movement pattern when his song
is sung. After birth, the parents
can use the “womb song” to calm
the fussy newborn!.*
Vision is perhaps the sense
which is least important in the
womb. However, a bright light
shining on the m other’ s belly
causes the baby to open its eyes
and turn his face toward the light.
He can see a faint glow.
Taste buds are well-developed
and the baby prefers a sweet
taste, according to doctors. The
skin o f the baby thickens and
begins to look polished. A layer of
fat is stored beneath the skin for
insulation and as a food supply,
as the little preborn triples in
weight and grows in length.
that is needed is nourishment,
loving care and time to grow.7
1. Bernard N. Nathanson. M.D., Aborting America
Doubleday & Co, Inc., 1979. pg. 198
2. Ibid, pg 198
3. “The Fascinating World o f the Unborn”, by Henci
Goer. Reader's Digest, November, 1989. Pg. 151.
4 Nathanson, op cit. Pg. 204.
5. Reader's Digest, op. cit. Pg. 152
6. Ibid 152
7. “When You Were Formed In Secret", Gary Bergel,
with remarks by C. Everett Koop. M D. pamphlet.
Intercessors for America. Co 1980. P.O. Box D , Elyria.
Ohio 44036
C f u r W estern w ay o f life h as com e to a p a r tin g o f th e w ey s; tim e’s
ta k e o v e r bid fo r etern ity h as rea ch ed th e p o in t a t w h ich irrevoca b le d ecision s
h a ve to be ta ken . E ith er w e g o on with th e p ro cess o f sh a p in g o u r ow n d estin y
w ith ou t r e fe r e n ce to a n y h ig h er bein g than man, d ecid in g ou rselves how m any
ch ild ren sh o u ld be b o m , w hen a n d in w h a t varieties, w hich lives a re w orth
c o n tin u in g a n d w hich sh ou ld be p u t out, from w hom sp a re p a rts ■ kidneys,
hearts, g en ita ls, bra in -boxes even • sh a ll be ta ken a n d to whom allotted . O r we
d ra w ba ck, seek in g to u n d erstan d a n d fa ll in with o u r C rea to r’s p u rp ose fo r
us ra th er than p u rsu e o u r ow n ; in tru e hum ility p ra yin g, as th e fou n d er o f ou r
religion a n d o u r civiliza tion ta u g h t us: Thy w ill be done.
“This is w h a t th e a bortion con troversy is about, a n d w hat the eu th a n a sia
con tro v ersy w ill be a b ou t when, as m ust in evita bly h a pp en soon, it arises. The
lo g ica l se q u e l to th e d estru ction o f w h a t a re ca lled u nw a n ted ch ild ren ’ w ill be
th e elim in a tion o f w h a t w ill be ca lled ‘u n w a n ted liv es’ — a legisla tive m ea su re
w hich so fa r in a ll h um an h istory on ly th e N azi govern m en t h as ven tu red to
en act.
“In th is sen se the a b ortion con troversy is th e m ost vital a n d releva n t o f all.
F o r we ca n su rvive en erg y crisis, in flation , wars, revolu tion s a n d in su rrec
tions, as th ey h a ve been su rvived in th e p a st; but i f w e tra n sgress a ga in st the
very basis o f o u r m ora l existen ce, b ecom in g o u r ow n g od s in o u r own universe,
then w e sh a ll su rely a n d d eserved ly p erish from th e e a r th .”
M alcolm M u ggerid ge (lAtndon S unday Times a s rep rin ted in P rolife
R esou rce M a n u a l “ Why We S ta n d .” B oca R aton, Florida.)
From Abortion to Holocaust?
“How will we treat preborn
humans?” That is the basic question.
How we decide to treat preborn
humans, will also decide how we treat
born h um ans — in fa n ts, women,
handicapped, elderly, racial/behavior/
religious groups. German physicians
destroyed preborns, handicapped, the
mentally inferior, and homosexuals
long before they went after the Jews.
You say, “No, that can't happen
here. It will stop.” How? When? Who
will stop it? The self-appointed elite
in governm ent, media and family
planning/population control/feminist
organizations who imposed abortion
upon America in the first place, aren’t
about to stop it. Faye Wattleton, Pres,
of Planned Parenthood has said:
“Ours is a grand mission....abortion is
the tip of the iceberg.”If they are cal
loused toward the unborn, the most
precious and innocent being in all of
creation, this is their standard. Will
we allow them to run every aspect of
our lives from education to economics
to laws to “who lives and who dies”
ft
using a standard that disrespects
human life? If this elite takes increas
ing control of the state with no moral
standards guiding them, you may be
next. M oral restra in ts are gone,
replaced by self-interest, convenience
or pleasure. Who or what will stop
the slippery slope toward holocaust if
you and I do not?
If, in your heart and in your con
science, you know abortion is wrong
— that our country cannot promote
what is wrong, and endure — here is
your chance to help right the wrong
by voting “yes" on Measure 8 and pro
life candidates. If you have observed
that our society’s stand ard s and
morals have been deteriorating, here
is your chance to vote to stop the
decay process — to help rebuild stan
dards that respect the dignity of
human life.
We can construct the type of soci
ety we want by how we vote. Do we
want a society where defenseless
humans are killed for mere selfish
convenience?