2008 Woodie Awards
Technology makes start of life clear
According to Whom?
Juanita Thouin
Issue date: 11/10/04 Section: Opinions
Since the 1973 passage of Roe v. Wade, one pivotal issue has fueled the continuing abortion debate - the origin of life. Some said, and still say, life begins at conception. Others claim it begins at birth.
Through the 1970s and 80s, many of us accepted or at least acquiesced to a pro-choice philosophy - myself included. After all, the womb was a mysterious place where few ventured.
Yes, some of us had seen the amazing 1965 photos Lennart Nilsson took, via an endoscope, of a fetus still in the womb. But those were still shots. And still pictures of a translucent form with finger buds just didn't stack up against a woman's reproductive right.
In the late '70s a new technology arrived on the obstetrical scene - one I was privileged to see first hand. Just weeks before the birth of our daughter in 1980, my husband and I marveled over a Polaroid-type picture that looked more like a mass of gray and black shadows, than baby. It was an ultrasonic "photo" of our expected child.
While this technology caused me to think a little harder about the pro-choice issue, I still acquiesced to the logic that a woman should be able to choose what happens inside her body.
In the early '90s, pro-life groups began decrying partial birth abortion. Most of us had never heard of such a thing. However, in 1996 when Brenda Pratt Shafer, a former abortion clinic nurse, testified about the procedure before a congressional judiciary committee hearing, we not only heard about it, we were shocked. Shafer said the following:
"Dr. Haskell went in with forceps and grabbed the baby's legs and pulled them down into the birth canal. Then he delivered the baby's body and the arms - everything but the head. The doctor kept the baby's head just inside the uterus. The baby's little fingers were clasping and unclasping, and his feet were kicking. Then the doctor stuck the scissors through the back of his head, and the baby's arms jerked out in a flinch, a startled reaction, like a baby does when he thinks that he might fall. The doctor opened up the scissors, stuck a high-powered suction tube into the opening and sucked the baby's brains out."
After her testimony, support for abortion on demand dwindled. In a 1992 Gallup poll, 34 percent of Americans - the highest percent for any Gallup poll - favored abortion under any circumstance. In 1997, after Shafer's testimony, Gallup found only 22 percent felt that way.
With the turn of the century, another scientific breakthrough shook the abortion battle clear down to its roots - that of 3-D ultrasound. And once again I've been privileged to experience this technology first hand.
Two years ago my daughter became pregnant with her first child. Because the pregnancy proved to be high-risk, for four months she had weekly ultrasounds - some of which were 3-D. What an amazing scientific feat. No longer are the photos gray and black shadows; they show a whole baby in living color.
Those ultrasounds revealed something very interesting about the fetus living inside my daughter. More often than not, the pictures captured the unborn little girl pulling on her ear. Today, Emma Grace, though a bit small due to her premature birth, is a happy and healthy 21-month-old. Today, she also pulls on her ear whenever she is tired.
Last month my daughter gave birth to her second child, a son. Though this pregnancy was normal, the doctor performed several precautionary ultrasounds. During these "photo sessions," we discovered Noah liked to keep his right hand in front of his face. Today Noah is a darling four-week-old who, when sleeping, puts his right hand up to his face.
In October of last year, Gallup again conducted a poll on abortion. Only 26 percent of Americans said abortion should be legal in all circumstances.
Earlier this year, Dr. Stuart Campbell of London, England released his research on activities of intra-uterine babies - research conducted via 4-D ultrasounds. Campbell discovered that babies at just eight-weeks gestation move their limbs. At 11- to 12-weeks gestation they leap, turn and jump.
It's been said the results of this year's election were a mandate on moral values. Perhaps they were. More than that though, I believe they were a mandate on the issue of life.
As more and more parents and grandparents see their pre-born children and grandchildren jumping or pulling on their ear while in the womb, more and more will start saying life does begin at conception.
And with that knowledge, the argument that has fueled the abortion debate will naturally fade away.
Juanita Thouin is a senior journalism major and can be reached at jlt3e@mtsu.edu.
Through the 1970s and 80s, many of us accepted or at least acquiesced to a pro-choice philosophy - myself included. After all, the womb was a mysterious place where few ventured.
Yes, some of us had seen the amazing 1965 photos Lennart Nilsson took, via an endoscope, of a fetus still in the womb. But those were still shots. And still pictures of a translucent form with finger buds just didn't stack up against a woman's reproductive right.
In the late '70s a new technology arrived on the obstetrical scene - one I was privileged to see first hand. Just weeks before the birth of our daughter in 1980, my husband and I marveled over a Polaroid-type picture that looked more like a mass of gray and black shadows, than baby. It was an ultrasonic "photo" of our expected child.
While this technology caused me to think a little harder about the pro-choice issue, I still acquiesced to the logic that a woman should be able to choose what happens inside her body.
In the early '90s, pro-life groups began decrying partial birth abortion. Most of us had never heard of such a thing. However, in 1996 when Brenda Pratt Shafer, a former abortion clinic nurse, testified about the procedure before a congressional judiciary committee hearing, we not only heard about it, we were shocked. Shafer said the following:
"Dr. Haskell went in with forceps and grabbed the baby's legs and pulled them down into the birth canal. Then he delivered the baby's body and the arms - everything but the head. The doctor kept the baby's head just inside the uterus. The baby's little fingers were clasping and unclasping, and his feet were kicking. Then the doctor stuck the scissors through the back of his head, and the baby's arms jerked out in a flinch, a startled reaction, like a baby does when he thinks that he might fall. The doctor opened up the scissors, stuck a high-powered suction tube into the opening and sucked the baby's brains out."
After her testimony, support for abortion on demand dwindled. In a 1992 Gallup poll, 34 percent of Americans - the highest percent for any Gallup poll - favored abortion under any circumstance. In 1997, after Shafer's testimony, Gallup found only 22 percent felt that way.
With the turn of the century, another scientific breakthrough shook the abortion battle clear down to its roots - that of 3-D ultrasound. And once again I've been privileged to experience this technology first hand.
Two years ago my daughter became pregnant with her first child. Because the pregnancy proved to be high-risk, for four months she had weekly ultrasounds - some of which were 3-D. What an amazing scientific feat. No longer are the photos gray and black shadows; they show a whole baby in living color.
Those ultrasounds revealed something very interesting about the fetus living inside my daughter. More often than not, the pictures captured the unborn little girl pulling on her ear. Today, Emma Grace, though a bit small due to her premature birth, is a happy and healthy 21-month-old. Today, she also pulls on her ear whenever she is tired.
Last month my daughter gave birth to her second child, a son. Though this pregnancy was normal, the doctor performed several precautionary ultrasounds. During these "photo sessions," we discovered Noah liked to keep his right hand in front of his face. Today Noah is a darling four-week-old who, when sleeping, puts his right hand up to his face.
In October of last year, Gallup again conducted a poll on abortion. Only 26 percent of Americans said abortion should be legal in all circumstances.
Earlier this year, Dr. Stuart Campbell of London, England released his research on activities of intra-uterine babies - research conducted via 4-D ultrasounds. Campbell discovered that babies at just eight-weeks gestation move their limbs. At 11- to 12-weeks gestation they leap, turn and jump.
It's been said the results of this year's election were a mandate on moral values. Perhaps they were. More than that though, I believe they were a mandate on the issue of life.
As more and more parents and grandparents see their pre-born children and grandchildren jumping or pulling on their ear while in the womb, more and more will start saying life does begin at conception.
And with that knowledge, the argument that has fueled the abortion debate will naturally fade away.
Juanita Thouin is a senior journalism major and can be reached at jlt3e@mtsu.edu.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
hoestu
hoestu
posted 11/22/04 @ 1:49 PM CST
I came across this article while doing research for my own pregnancy. I'm in the second trimester, and have seen several sonograms of my beautiful baby. (Continued…)
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