Yes. This is not a question of belief – it’s a scientific fact. Each one of us started life as an embryo. When the father’s sperm fuses with the mother’s egg, a human life begins. At the moment of conception a new, unique and genetically complete human being comes into existence. From that moment on, the new human being develops and grows. Although very tiny, this new human being is not just a potential life – it is already a human being with potential:
- At conception, a baby’s sex is decided, a boy or a girl.
- 18-21 days after conception the baby’s heart is beating.
- At 8 weeks, everything to be found in a fully-grown human being is formed.
- By 12 weeks, fingerprints and fingernails appear; the baby can open his or her lips.
- At 16 weeks, the baby reacts to sounds, sucks, swallows and yawns.
- At 18 weeks, many mothers feel the baby’s movements. Pushing with his or her feet and head, the baby exercises the developming muscles. The baby now sucks his/her thumb.
- At 20 weeks, the baby sleeps and wakes like a born baby.
- With advances in medical care, babies born as early as 21 weeks can survive and thrive.
- At 30-40 weeks, if left undisturbed, the baby grows stronger until it is time to be born.
For years people were misled into thinking that the unborn baby was just a “clump of cells”. The amazing advances in ultrasound technology illuminate the truth that the unborn child is a human being.
In 1967, when the abortion law was introduced in Britain, politicians could have pleaded ignorance to the humanity of the unborn child. In 2016, we don’t have this excuse.
