Science Has Strengthened the Pro-Life Case

 I have often seen the glazed-over look in the eyes of my students when presenting the intricacies and complexities of science, until I show them a picture. Then, their perplexity turns to illumination. In many ways, the obscurities of pregnancy once prevented many from understanding what science already knew about the humanity of the unborn child, until ultrasound technology gave us a clear picture of the little boy or girl developing inside his or her mother’s womb.

Fifty years ago, science had already firmly established the dynamics of developing human life in the womb. Validated, objective studies had demonstrated that from the moment of conception, when the sperm fertilizes the egg, the union of the male and female DNA restored the full collection of chromosomes needed to create a new, integrated, human organism with a complete set of unique DNA for his or her entire life.

When Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973, the Carnegie Stages of human development had already been accepted as the standard used by all biologists to describe the first eight weeks of human life. From Carnegie Stage 1a, which marks the beginning of a human life with the first stage of fertilization, culminating with Carnegie Stage 23 in the eighth week, in which the child has already formed 90 percent of his or her bodily structures — including fingers, toes, nose, and lips — the complexity of human life unfolds rapidly.

But we are visual creatures. When Roe was decided, these amazing structures could barely be seen inside the womb. At the time, ultrasound presented only a dim reflection of the developing child. Static images consisted of only simple white dots on a black background. Sonography had just been recognized as a separate profession by the American Medical Association, but there were not yet any accredited sonography programs in the United States. There were no medical textbooks with systematic discussions of ultrasound techniques and findings in obstetrical and gynecological sonography.

After Roe, advancements in fetal ultrasound developed rapidly into obstetrics and fetal diagnostics. By the mid 1970s, fetal images became more sophisticated, from static to gray-scale static, making it possible to distinguish different types of tissue and bone. The development of real-time scanning to transvaginal scanning by the late 1970s and 1980s replaced static scans, allowing the visualization of the brain, spine, kidneys, stomach, and bladder. The development of pulsed-wave Doppler ultrasound led to more accurate and rapid diagnosis of birth defects.

These advancements in prenatal imaging, combined with discoveries in anesthesia for relieving fetal pain and surgical technology, became the pivotal point in ushering in the modern era of fetal surgery. Birth was no longer a prerequisite to diagnosis and treatment of life-threatening conditions, which could now take place while the child was still nestled in the mother’s womb.

A revolution in perinatal health care began in the U.S. in 1981 with the first successful fetal surgery, which repaired a child’s birth defect before birth, inside the womb. A few years later, the first textbook was published in the field, Unborn Patient: Prenatal Diagnosis and Treatment, marking a new path for training the next generation in how to treat the unborn child as a separate patient.

With the establishment of the standard 20-week fetal examination via ultrasound, it became possible to follow each pregnancy in utero. New academic fields of prenatal diagnosis and maternal–fetal medicine developed. In 2015, the North American Fetal Therapy Network published guidelines for medical innovation in maternal–fetal therapy. Birth defects such as spina bifida and twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, disorders once considered life-threatening and debilitating, are now routinely corrected via in utero surgery at major medical institutions during pregnancy to increase fetal survival and improve quality of life. Some fetal surgeries have even been performed as early as 15 weeks’ gestation.

Today, we have an unobstructed view inside the womb. Advancements in 3D and 4D imaging provide high-resolution images that reflect the humanity, likeness, and face of each unborn child. The understanding we had at the time of Roe is outdated and antiquated, and has been replaced with modern medicine and scientific progress. There are no excuses. It’s time to follow this science, what our eyes can plainly see via ultrasound, and modernize our abortion laws to protect the unborn child.

TARA SANDER LEE, Ph.D., is senior fellow and director of life sciences at Charlotte Lozier Institute, where she serves as editor of VoyageOfLife.com

https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/11/science-has-strengthened-the-pro-life-case/