| What science REALLY states about the beginning
of life and fetal development. (Average age of the abortion of an unborn
baby is 12 weeks after conception):
The Facts of Prenatal
Development
Is it a human being?
"From the moment a baby is conceived, it bears the indelible stamp of a
separate distinct personality, an individual different from all other
individuals." Ultrasound pioneer, Sir William Liley, M.D. 1967.
"After fertilization has taken place a new human being has come into
existence. This is no longer a matter of taste or opinion. Each individual
has a very neat beginning, at conception." Dr. Jerome Lejeune, genetics
professor at the University of Descartes, Paris. He discovered the Down
syndrome chromosome.
"It is scientifically correct to say that an individual human life begins at
conception." Professor M. Matthews-Roth, Harvard University Medical School.
"By all the criteria of modern molecular biology, life is present from the
moment of conception." Professor Hymie Gordon, Mayo Clinic.
When does the heart begin to
beat?
At 18 days [when the mother is only four days late for her first menstrual
period], and by 21 days it is pumping, through a closed circulatory system,
blood whose type is different from that of the mother. J.M. Tanner, G. R.
Taylor, and the Editors of Time-Life Books, Growth, New York: Life Science
Library, 1965, p.
When is the brain functioning?
Brain waves have been recorded at 40 days on the Electroencephalogram (EEG).
H. Hamlin, "Life or Death by EEG," JAMA, Oct. 12, 1964, p. 120
Brain function, as measured on the Electroencephalogram, "appears to be
reliably present in the fetus at about eight weeks gestation," or six weeks
after conception. J. Goldenring, "Development of the Fetal Brain," New
England Jour. of Med., Aug. 26, 1982, p. 564
How early do some organs form?
The eye, ear and respiratory systems begin to form four weeks after
fertilization. K. Moore, Before We Were Born, 3rd ed., 1989, p. 278
And function?
Very early, e.g., glucagon, a blood sugar hormone, has been demonstrated in
the fetal pancreas 6 weeks after fertilization, and insulin by 7 to 8. F.
Cunningham, "Pancreas," William’s Obstet., 19th ed., 1993, p. 183-4
Thumbsucking has been photographed at 7 weeks after fertilization. W. Liley,
The Fetus As Personality, Fetal Therapy, 1986, p. 8-17
When does the developing baby
first move?
"In the sixth to seventh weeks. . . . If the area of the lips is gently
stroked, the child responds by bending the upper body to one side and making
a quick backward motion with his arms. This is called a ‘total pattern
response’ because it involves most of the body, rather than a local part."
L. B. Arey, Developmental Anatomy (6th ed.), Philadelphia: W. B. Sanders
Co., 1954
At eight weeks, "if we tickle the baby’s nose, he will flex his head
backwards away from the stimulus." A. Hellgers, M.D., "Fetal Development,
31," Theological Studies, vol. 3, no. 7, 1970, p. 26
Another example is from a surgical technician whose letter said, "When we
opened her abdomen (for a tubal pregnancy), the tube had expelled an
inch-long fetus, about 4-6 weeks old. It was still alive in the sack. "That
tiny baby was waving its little arms and kicking its little legs and even
turned its whole body over." J. Dobson, Focus on the Family Mag., Aug. ’91,
pg. 16
When are all her body systems
present?
By eight weeks (two months). Hooker & Davenport, The Prenatal Origin of
Behavior, University of Kansas Press, 1952
When do teeth form?
All 20 milk-teeth buds are present at six and a half weeks."Life Before
Birth," Life Magazine, Apr. 30, 1965, p. 10
And include dental lamina at 8 weeks. Med. Embryology, Longman, 3rd Ed.,
1975, p. 406
How about nine weeks?
At nine to ten weeks, he squints, swallows, moves his tongue, and if you
stroke his palm, will make a tight fist.
By nine weeks he will "bend his fingers round an object in the palm of his
hand." Valman & Pearson, "What the Fetus Feels," British Med. Jour., Jan.
26, 1980
When does he start to breathe?
"By 11 to 12 weeks (3 months), he is breathing fluid steadily and continues
so until birth. At birth, he will breathe air. He does not drown by
breathing fluid with-in his mother, because he obtains his oxygen from his
umbilical cord. This breathing develops the organs of respiration." "Life
Before Birth," Life Magazine, Apr. 30, 1965, p. 13
"Maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy decreases the frequency of
fetal breathing by 20%. The ‘well documented’ higher incidence of
prematurity, stillbirth, and slower development of reading skill may be
related to this decrease." 80 F. Manning, "Meeting of Royal College of
Physicians & Surgeons," Family Practice News, March 15, 1976
"In the 11th week of gestation fetal breathing is irregular and episodic. As
gestation continues, the breathing movements become more vigorous and
rapid." C. Dawes, "Fetal Breathing: Indication of Well Being," Family
Practice News, Mar. 16, 1976, p. 6
Episodic spontaneous breathing movement have been observed in the healthy
human fetus as early as ten weeks gestational age. Conners et al., "Control
of Fetal Breathing in the Human Fetus," Am J. OB-GYN, April ‘89, p. 932
When can she swallow?
At 11 weeks. Valman & Pearson, British Med. Jour., "What the Fetus Feels,"
26 Jan. 1980, p. 233
What of detailed development, like fingernails and eyelashes?
Fingernails are present by 11 to 12 weeks; eyelashes by 16 weeks.
Fingerprints are completely established during the fourth month of
gestation. Hamilton et al., Human Embryology, Fourth Ed., 1972, p. 567
At what point are all her body
systems working?
By 11 weeks. "Life Before Birth," Life Magazine, Apr. 30, 1965, p. 13
How does the size of the baby increase in weight?
At 12 weeks (three months) she weighs about 30 gm (1.0 ounce); at 16 weeks
about 170 gm (6 ounces); and at 20 weeks (four months), approximately 454 gm
(one pound).
When is taste present?
"Taste buds are working between 13 and 15 weeks gestation" (11 to 13 weeks
after conception). Mistretta & Bradley, Taste in Utero, 1977, p. 62 Bradley
et al., "Dev. Taste Buds . . . ," J. Anat. 101 (4) 1967, p. 743-752
How about hearing?
"Auditory sense is present in the infant 24 weeks before birth [14 weeks
after conception]. This involves brain functioning and memory patterns." M.
Clemens, "5th International Congress Psychosomatic," OB & GYN, Rome: Medical
Tribune, Mar. 22, 1978, p. 7
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/SFL/fetology.htm
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