The inalienable right to life possessed by every human being is present from the moment of initial formation, and all human beings shall be entitled to the equal protection of persons under the law.
Personhood in Science
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I. The child is an individual human life from the moment of conception – Dr. Beck
“The foetus, previous to the time of quickening, must be either dead or alive. … Foetuses do actually die in the uterus before quickening, and then all the signs of death are present. The embryo, therefore, before that crisis, must be in a state different from that of death, and this can be no other than life. … [T]he fact is certain, that the foetus enjoys life long before the sensation of quickening is felt by the mother. Indeed, no other doctrine appears to be consonant with reason or physiology, but that which admits the embryo to possess vitality from the very moment of conception.” (Theodric Romeyn Beck M.D., Elements of Medical Jurisprudence (1825), 138-140)
Contrary to the claims of those favoring abortion, the medical community has recognized the individual life of the unborn child for many centuries, and Dr. Beck demonstrated a century and a half before Roe v. Wade that the unborn child is a separate human life from the moment of conception.
II. The unborn child is not part of his mother’s body – Dr. Storer
"Allowing, then, as must be done, that the ovum does not originate in the uterus; that for a time, however slight, during its passage through the Fallopian tube, its connection with the mother is wholly broken; that its subsequent history after impregnation is one merely of development, its attachment merely for nutrition and shelter - it is not rational to suppose that its total independence, thus once established, becomes again merged into total identity, however temporary." (Horatio R. Storer M.D., LL.B., Criminal Abortion (1868))
The logic of Dr. Storer’s conclusion cannot be denied. The unborn child begins his life independent of the mother’s body. It is therefore irrational to conclude that the independent life of the unborn child ceases to exist during the time that he is in the womb. This fact is even further strengthened by the practice of in vitro fertilization in which a living human child is inserted into the womb for the purpose of development rather than for the purpose of obtaining life.
III. The child, not the mother, initiates implantation – Dr. Schauf
"Dr. F Hitschmann and Dr. O Th. Lindenthal give the results of their exhaustive investigations relating to placental development and growth. The impregnated ovum reaches the uterine cavity devoid of villi, and after it has abraded the epithelium and reached the mucosa it is enveloped by a particular kind of tissue of the trophoblast or ectoblast which is in direct communication with the maternal tissue. ... It is the trophoblast which possesses the power to open up vessels and to grow actively through the decidua. ... It is, therefore, the trophoblast which establishes the first communication between the maternal tissues and the ovum, and which prepares the way for the growth of the villi into the maternal structure." (Adam Schauf, M.D., "The Growth of the Placenta," American Gynecology (1903), 94)
The independent life of the unborn child is even further proven by the fact that it is the child who initiates implantation into the womb. The mother’s body is entirely passive in the implantation process. It merely responds to the actions taken by the unborn child.
IV. The child will implant outside of the uterus if necessary – Drs. Godyn, Hazra and Gulli
“The gestation age was approximately 37 weeks in a 26-year-old mother. After a normally developed live 3255-g male infant, with a crown-heel length of 51 cm, was delivered by modified cesarean section from an abdominal extrauterine location; … Despite lack of the specialized uterine environment for sustaining such a pregnancy, a successful outcome of the extrauterine abdominal pregnancy was observed in this case.” (Janusz J. Godyn MD, Anup Hazra MD, Vito M. Gulli MD, “Subperitoneal placenta accreta succenturiate in the case of a successful near-term extrauterine abdominal pregnancy,” Human Pathology (2005) 36, 922– 926)
The successful implantation and live birth of children who developed outside their mother’s womb fully solidifies their claim to independent life. If pregnancy were merely a function of the woman’s body, then the implantation, development and live birth of the child would not be able to occur outside of the womb. That this does happen indicates that the unborn child is an independent, living human being who will fight to maintain his life in spite of great obstacles. The intentional taking of that life cannot be described as anything else but murder.
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I. The child is an individual human life from the moment of conception – Dr. Beck
“The foetus, previous to the time of quickening, must be either dead or alive. … Foetuses do actually die in the uterus before quickening, and then all the signs of death are present. The embryo, therefore, before that crisis, must be in a state different from that of death, and this can be no other than life. … [T]he fact is certain, that the foetus enjoys life long before the sensation of quickening is felt by the mother. Indeed, no other doctrine appears to be consonant with reason or physiology, but that which admits the embryo to possess vitality from the very moment of conception.” (Theodric Romeyn Beck M.D., Elements of Medical Jurisprudence (1825), 138-140)
Contrary to the claims of those favoring abortion, the medical community has recognized the individual life of the unborn child for many centuries, and Dr. Beck demonstrated a century and a half before Roe v. Wade that the unborn child is a separate human life from the moment of conception.
II. The unborn child is not part of his mother’s body – Dr. Storer
"Allowing, then, as must be done, that the ovum does not originate in the uterus; that for a time, however slight, during its passage through the Fallopian tube, its connection with the mother is wholly broken; that its subsequent history after impregnation is one merely of development, its attachment merely for nutrition and shelter - it is not rational to suppose that its total independence, thus once established, becomes again merged into total identity, however temporary." (Horatio R. Storer M.D., LL.B., Criminal Abortion (1868))
The logic of Dr. Storer’s conclusion cannot be denied. The unborn child begins his life independent of the mother’s body. It is therefore irrational to conclude that the independent life of the unborn child ceases to exist during the time that he is in the womb. This fact is even further strengthened by the practice of in vitro fertilization in which a living human child is inserted into the womb for the purpose of development rather than for the purpose of obtaining life.
III. The child, not the mother, initiates implantation – Dr. Schauf
"Dr. F Hitschmann and Dr. O Th. Lindenthal give the results of their exhaustive investigations relating to placental development and growth. The impregnated ovum reaches the uterine cavity devoid of villi, and after it has abraded the epithelium and reached the mucosa it is enveloped by a particular kind of tissue of the trophoblast or ectoblast which is in direct communication with the maternal tissue. ... It is the trophoblast which possesses the power to open up vessels and to grow actively through the decidua. ... It is, therefore, the trophoblast which establishes the first communication between the maternal tissues and the ovum, and which prepares the way for the growth of the villi into the maternal structure." (Adam Schauf, M.D., "The Growth of the Placenta," American Gynecology (1903), 94)
The independent life of the unborn child is even further proven by the fact that it is the child who initiates implantation into the womb. The mother’s body is entirely passive in the implantation process. It merely responds to the actions taken by the unborn child.
IV. The child will implant outside of the uterus if necessary – Drs. Godyn, Hazra and Gulli
“The gestation age was approximately 37 weeks in a 26-year-old mother. After a normally developed live 3255-g male infant, with a crown-heel length of 51 cm, was delivered by modified cesarean section from an abdominal extrauterine location; … Despite lack of the specialized uterine environment for sustaining such a pregnancy, a successful outcome of the extrauterine abdominal pregnancy was observed in this case.” (Janusz J. Godyn MD, Anup Hazra MD, Vito M. Gulli MD, “Subperitoneal placenta accreta succenturiate in the case of a successful near-term extrauterine abdominal pregnancy,” Human Pathology (2005) 36, 922– 926)
The successful implantation and live birth of children who developed outside their mother’s womb fully solidifies their claim to independent life. If pregnancy were merely a function of the woman’s body, then the implantation, development and live birth of the child would not be able to occur outside of the womb. That this does happen indicates that the unborn child is an independent, living human being who will fight to maintain his life in spite of great obstacles. The intentional taking of that life cannot be described as anything else but murder.
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