Human Life begins at Conception...
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you..." Jeremiah 1:5
FETAL DEVELOPMENT
EIGHT WEEKS from conception
ELEVEN WEEKS from conception (feet)
FOURTEEN WEEKS from conception
FOURTEEN WEEKS from conception (ear)
SIXTEEN WEEKS from conception (face)
Former Abortionists Speak Out
There are 9 main types of abortion. They can be classified as either chemical or surgical abortion. Click on the links to read more about each type.
Chemical
1) Methotrexate (MTX) and Misoprostol (Cytotec) - Used up to 8 weeks from conception
2) The Abortion Pill: RU-486 - Used 2-5 weeks from conception
3) Prostaglandin - Used 11-25 weeks from conception
4) Selective Reduction Abortion: Intra-Cardiac Injection - Used 12+ weeks from conception
5) Saline Injection - Used 14+ weeks from conception
Read a survivor's story
Surgical
1) Suction Dilation & Curettage (Suction D&C) - Used 4-11 weeks from conception
Medically accurate diagram of a D&C abortion
2) Dilation & Evacuation (D&E) - Used 11-21 weeks from conception
Medically accurate diagram of a D&E abortion
3) Partial-Birth Abortion - Used 20+ weeks from conception
Medically accurate diagram of a partial birth abortion
4) C-Section: Hyserotomy - Used 20+ weeks from conception
In expert testimony provided to each court considering the partial-birth abortion ban, Dr. Sunny Anand, Director of the Pain Neurobiology Laboratory at Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute explained, " the human fetus possesses the ability to experience pain from 20 weeks of gestation, if not earlier, and the pain perceived by a fetus is possibly more intense than that perceived by term newborns or older children."
Dr. Anand further described before the court that,
"The highest density of pain receptors per square inch of skin in human development occurs in utero from 20 to 30 weeks gestation. During this period, the epidermis is still very thin, leaving nerve fibers closer to the surface of the skin than in older neonates and adults." He went on to explain that, "...the pain inhibitory mechanisms (fibers which dampen and modulate the experience of pain) do not begin to develop until 32-34 weeks of gestation. Thus, a fetus at 20-32 weeks of gestation would experience a much more intense pain than older infants or children or adults, when these age groups are subjected to similar types of injury or handling..." (emphasis added)
After hearing expert testimony from both sides, on August 26, 2004, Judge Casey, made the following formal "findings of fact":
"The Court finds that the testimony at trial and before Congress establishes that D&X [partial-birth abortion] is a gruesome, brutal, barbaric, and uncivilized medical procedure. Dr. Anand's testimony, which went unrebutted by Plaintiffs, is credible evidence that D&X abortions subject fetuses to severe pain. Notwithstanding this evidence, some of Plaintiffs' experts testified that fetal pain does not concern them, and that some do not convey to their patients that their fetuses may undergo severe pain during a D&X."