Medical Testimonies
As surprising as this may be to some people, there is no debate within the medical community as to when life begins. Life begins at conception. Therefore, every "successful" abortion ends the life of a living human being.
We're not asking you to take our word for it. Consider the testimony below from an assortment of leading embryology textbooks.
Modern teaching texts on embryology / prenatal development
"Human development begins at fertilization, the process during which a male gamete or sperm (spermatozoo developmentn) unites with a female gamete or oocyte (ovum) to form a single cell called a zygote. This highly specialized, totipotent cell marked the beginning of each of us as a unique individual."
"A zygote is the beginning of a new human being (i.e., an embryo)."
Keith L. Moore, The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology, 7th edition. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders, 2003. pp. 16, 2.
"Development begins with fertilization, the process by which the male gamete, the sperm, and the female gamete, the oocyte, unite to give rise to a zygote."
T.W. Sadler, Langman's Medical Embryology, 10th edition. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2006. p. 11.
"[The zygote], formed by the union of an oocyte and a sperm, is the beginning of a new human being."
Keith L. Moore, Before We Are Born: Essentials of Embryology, 7th edition. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders, 2008. p. 2.
"Although life is a continuous process, fertilization (which, incidentally, is not a 'moment') is a critical landmark because, under ordinary circumstances, a new genetically distinct human organism is formed when the chromosomes of the male and female pronuclei blend in the oocyte."
Ronan O'Rahilly and Fabiola Müller, Human Embryology and Teratology, 3rd edition. New York: Wiley-Liss, 2001. p. 8.
Other sources:
Essentials of Human Embryology
William J. Larsen, (New York: Churchill Livingstone, 1998), 1-17.
"In this text, we begin our description of the developing human with the formation and differentiation of the male and female sex cells or gametes, which will unite at fertilization to initiate the embryonic development of a new individual. ... Fertilization takes place in the oviduct ... resulting in the formation of a zygote containing a single diploid nucleus. Embryonic development is considered to begin at this point... This moment of zygote formation may be taken as the beginning or zero time point of embryonic development."
Human Embryology & Teratology
Ronan R. O'Rahilly, Fabiola Muller, (New York: Wiley-Liss, 1996), 5-55.
"Fertilization is an important landmark because, under ordinary circumstances, a new, genetically distinct human organism is thereby formed... Fertilization is the procession of events that begins when a spermatozoon makes contact with a secondary oocyte or its investments... The zygote ... is a unicellular embryo... "The ill-defined and inaccurate term pre-embryo, which includes the embryonic disc, is said either to end with the appearance of the primitive streak or ... to include neurulation. The term is not used in this book."
Adding to the consensus of contemporary textbooks, is the testimony of older medical texts as well:
• Human Embryology, 3rd ed.
Bradley M. Patten, (New York: McGraw Hill, 1968), 43.
"It is the penetration of the ovum by a spermatozoan and resultant mingling of the nuclear material each brings to the union that constitues the culmination of the process of fertilization and marks the initiation of the life of a new individual."
• Biological Principles and Modern Practice of Obstetrics
J.P. Greenhill and E.A. Friedman, (Philadelphia: W.B. Sanders, 1974), 17.
"The zygote thus formed represents the beginning of a new life."
• Pathology of the Fetus and the Infant, 3d ed.
E.L. Potter and J.M. Craig, (Chicago: Year Book Medical Publishers, 1975), vii.
"Every time a sperm cell and ovum unite a new being is created which is alive and will continue to live unless its death is brought about by some specific condition."
In addition to the consistent testimony found in medical textbooks, there is some equally conclusive evidence that exists on the public record. In 1981, a United States Senate judiciary subcommittee received the following testimony from a collection of medical experts (Subcommittee on Separation of Powers to Senate Judiciary Committee S-158, Report, 97th Congress, 1st Session, 1981):
• Professor Micheline Matthews-Roth
Harvard University Medical School
"It is incorrect to say that biological data cannot be decisive...It is scientifically correct to say that an individual human life begins at conception."
• Dr. Alfred M. Bongioanni
Professor of Pediatrics and Obstetrics, University of Pennsylvania
"I have learned from my earliest medical education that human life begins at the time of conception."
• Dr. Jerome LeJeune
Professor of Genetics, University of Descartes
"After fertilization has taken place a new human being has come into being. [It] is no longer a matter of taste or opinion...it is plain experimental evidence. Each individual has a very neat beginning, at conception."
• Professor Hymie Gordon
Mayo Clinic
"By all the criteria of modern molecular biology, life is present from the moment of conception."
• Dr. Watson A. Bowes
University of Colorado Medical School
"The beginning of a single human life is from a biological point of view a simple and straightforward matter – the beginning is conception."
The official Senate report reached this conclusion:
Physicians, biologists, and other scientists agree that conception marks the beginning of the life of a human being - a being that is alive and is a member of the human species. There is overwhelming agreement on this point in countless medical, biological, and scientific writings.
Human life begins at conception.
Reproduced by kind permission of Abort73.com
Prenatal Development
Since abortion advocates must concede that abortion kills a living human being, many try arguing that embryos and early foetuses aren't developed enough to be morally significant. The following timeline will help put such claims in better perspective.
FERTILISATION
At fertilisation, a new and unique human being comes into existence with its own distinct genetic code. Twenty-three chromosomes from the mother and twenty-three chromosomes from the father combine to result in a brand-new and totally unique genetic combination. Whereas the heart, lungs, and hair of a woman all share the same genetic code, her unborn child, from fertilisation, has a separate genetic code that is all its own. There is enough information in this tiny zygote to control human growth and development for the rest of its life.
EIGHT DAYS (from fertilisation)
At about eight days after conception, the fertilised ovum (called a blastocyst) implants in the lining of the uterus. It emits chemical substances that weaken the woman's immune system within the uterus so that this tiny "foreign" body is not rejected by the woman's body.
THREE WEEKS (from fertilisation)
By the third week (approximately 21 days after fertilisation), the heart begins to beat, pumping blood throughout the body, and the brain begins dividing into three primary sections (forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain).
FOUR WEEKS (from fertilisation)
Arms and legs begin taking shape at four weeks, and the embryo is now surrounded and protected by the amniotic sac.
FIVE WEEKS (from fertilisation)
Permanent kidneys appear during the fifth week, and the external portions of the ear begin to differentiate. Hands and wrists are also beginning to take shape.
SIX WEEKS (from fertilisation)
By the sixth week, an EEG (electroencephalogram) can detect brain waves. This is the legal standard for determining if someone is alive after birth. The heartbeat can be heard with an ultrasonic stethoscope, the embryo responds reflexively to stimulus and may be able to feel pain. Bone ossification begins at this point as well.
SEVEN WEEKS (from fertilisation)
Startle responses can be observed after 7 weeks, and female ovaries are now identifiable. Fingers and toes are now distinctly separated, and knee joints are present.
EIGHT WEEKS (from fertilisation)
By the eighth week of pregnancy, every organ is present and in place. Ninety percent of the structures found in an adult human being can now be found in this tiny embryo which is only about an inch and a half long. The brain, at this point, makes up almost half of the embryo's total body weight, and 75% of 8-week embryos demonstrate right-hand dominance. Intermittent breathing motions (though there is no air present in the uterus) occur, the kidneys begin producing urine, and male testes are releasing testosterone. As the skin thickens, it loses much of its transparency.
NINE WEEKS (from fertilisation)
The eyelids close at this point, and foetuses are now capable of sucking their thumb, swallowing amniotic fluid, grasping objects and responding to touch. The uterus can be recognised in female foetuses and external genitalia become more recognisable.
TEN WEEKS (from fertilisation)
Fingernails, toenails and unique fingerprints all appear.
TWENTY-ONE WEEKS (from fertilisation)
Viability generally begins at 21-weeks (barely 1/2 of full gestation) when a baby has a 15% chance of survival outside the womb.
BIRTH
The foetus initiates labour by stimulating the adrenal cortex to secrete a hormone that induces the mother's uterus to begin contracting. It is the foetus who determines when it's time for birth.
Adapted by kind permission of Abort73.com