| When does human life begin? Many have disputed the point over the past twenty-three years, but Christians have no difficulty in determining a truthful and accurate answer to the question. Although several Biblical passages relate to the issue, the four verses cited last week (Luke 1:41, 44 and 2:12,16) are more than sufficient to know and understand that God views the babe a human being whether in or out of the womb. The Bible is the greatest proof and the final authority in the matter of abortion or any other moral issue. God reveals truth; the Bible is right.But the medical evidence for the child being a human being is also compelling. Consider the following factual information derived from the book, The Rites of Life, by Landrum Shettles, M.D., and David Rorvik (pages 47-57).
1. Within the first 30 days, “the embryo has already developed a beating heart and put down the foundations of its nervous system, including brain, nerves, and spinal cord. The eyes have begun to develop, as have most of the major organs” (47). All of this has begun to occur even before a woman knows for sure that she is pregnant. 2. During the fifth week “leg and arm buds are becoming prominent” (52); “the jaw has begun to form” (53). 3. During the sixth week “bone begins forming”; “the heart becomes more complex as its chambers are completed” (53). 4. During the seventh week “the tongue takes shape, and the stomach assumes its final position. Muscles are strengthening, nerve fiber is rapidly growing” (53); “differentiation is occurring in the sex glands” (54). 5. During the eighth week “the digits of the hands and feet are now well-formed… The lungs and heart are now in an advanced state of development. Major blood vessels are in permanent place. Taste buds and olfactory apparatus, serving the sense of smell, are present” (54). 6. During the ninth week the face becomes quite “appealing, exhibiting large eyes, button nose, and expressive lips which often as not are sucking a tiny thumb. The internal organs are in place” (54). “Teeth, fingernails, toenails, and hair follicles are all forming. The fetal heartbeat can now be detected through the mother’s abdominal wall by listening through a stethoscope” (55). 7. During the tenth week “palms close into fists if something brushes across them… Bone growth is rapid.” 8. At the end of the twelfth week “the limbs are well-shaped,” and the “rib structure is visible through the skin. The digestive system is complete. Blood is beginning to be produced in the bone marrow” (55). From this point onward nothing new is formed. The baby begins to grow rapidly and to mature. Is this fetus a human life? The baby has had brain waves that can be measured by an EEG since the sixth week (56). More importantly, the child has been a unique individual since conception, at which time 23 male chromosomes united with 23 female chromosomes to produce a unique individual with his own distinctive DNA. Medically, as well as Biblically, the “fetus” is a human being. |
