Abortion was a major issue in last year’s national election. Unfortunately, media coverage has focused almost exclusively on “women’s rights” and very little on “the rights of unborn babies”. The fundamental question of the abortion debate becomes “Is the unborn human?” If not, abortion is no different from wisdom tooth extraction. If the unborn is a person, then abortion is murder!
Dr. Jerome Lejeune, known as the father of modern genetics, solved this problem. In 1981, Dr. Lejeune testified before a Senate subcommittee examining when life begins, saying: “Accepting the fact that new humans are born after fertilization is no longer a matter of taste or opinion.”
But that was more than 40 years ago. What do we know now, and how does it compare to what was known at the time of Roe v. Wade in the early 70’s? At that time, ultrasound equipment was very simple. Modern ultrasound and other technologies tell us that the DNA that defines us as unique human beings is built at conception. We can detect a heartbeat between 18 and 24 days after conception. At nine weeks, unborn babies are able to curl their fingers around objects and suck their thumbs.
Doctors now operate on unborn babies.
One thing that still stands in the way of accepting the unborn as human beings is location. Abortion is easier to justify because the fetus is out of sight. Out of sight and absent-minded, unless an ultrasound is done. In this case, research shows that 80 percent of mothers who consider abortion go into labor after viewing an ultrasound.
Hopefully, continued advances in technology will confirm what most of us know in our hearts. Abortion, like slavery, is unthinkable.
Richard Kaiser
Elk Grove Village
