On Sept 3 (2021) NPR published the article “The Texas Abortion Ban Hinges On ‘Fetal Heartbeat.’ Doctors Call That Misleading” by Selena Simmons-Duffin. In NPR’s tweet of the article, the description said “What an ultrasound detects in an embryo at 6 weeks is electrical activity from cells – not a heart.” Here I will explain […]
Summary of Pennsylvania’s Final Disposition of Fetal Remains Act Today’s guest post is by Daniel Gump. On January 11, 2021, Pennsylvania Representative Francis Ryan reintroduced the Final Disposition of Fetal Remains Act (House Bill No. 118) to The General Assembly of Pennsylvania.[1] He previously introduced it to the committee on health in September 2019.[2] This […]
Definitions of “heartbeat.” To my knowledge there’s no unifying authoritative definition of “heartbeat.” Embryology textbooks do use the term. For example: “Blood flow begins during the fourth week, and heartbeats can be visualized by Doppler ultrasonography.” – The Developing Human, Moore et al, 10th Edition (2013) “The heartbeat is initiated around the twenty-first day, and […]
Recently a FB follower shared this post to our page: (Click to enlarge) The text reads, in part: This is what an embryo at 6 weeks looks like. There is no real heart beat because it’s heart isn’t nearly complete – they’re heart “vibrations” (vibrations are caused my cellular activity where the heart WILL be. […]
This post contains quotes, summaries, and descriptions from the grand jury report regarding Kermit Gosnell. Much of this information is very disturbing, including graphic descriptions of violence. NBC published a review of the Gosnell movie by Robin Marty. She didn’t like the film. In particular she took exception to the moniker “America’s Biggest Serial Killer,” saying: […]
When we say “life begins at conception,” we mean the human life cycle begins with the zygote. But often others think we are trying to say “people [morally relevant and valuable humans] begin at conception.” This is a philosophical claim, not a scientific one. So when others counter with “science can’t tell us when life begins” […]
In 2011, Texas redirected taxpayer funds from Planned Parenthood to federally qualified health centers and other comprehensive healthcare providers. The next year, maternal mortality in Texas allegedly skyrocketed. Pro-lifers were immediately blamed. Planned Parenthood funding had been saving lives! Post hoc, ergo propter hoc! That explanation was unsatisfying, because Planned Parenthood doesn’t offer birth care. […]
Two months ago I wrote the post “No, most late-term abortions are not medically necessary,” in which I used Guttmacher data to show that at least 75% of 13+ week abortions are elective (that is, they are not performed due to fetal or maternal health concerns). I said: One could argue that the proportion of […]
Last Wednesday, SPL published this blog post about an embryologist who conflated a scientific question with a philosophical question. Two years prior, the writer of the college biology textbook “Life,” Dr. Ricki Lewis (PhD), wrote a stunningly similar article called “When Does a Human Life Begin? 17 Timepoints.” I want to begin by pointing out that […]
What’s the most common argument you get into in the abortion debate? Do you argue about whether bodily rights justify abortion? Whether adoption is a better choice? Do you discuss the pros and cons of paid maternity leave, or maybe get into philosophical discussions about coma patients? There are plenty of complex topics and worthy […]
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