Love Those Who Hate You

Yesterday I was browsing the Catholic blog American Papist and enjoying the blog's hilarious photo caption feature. A user started to comment in all caps how horrible it was that the blog was being funny about religious photographs. Due to the user's comments he was banned. I posted in defense of the ban since the owner of the blog has a right to do so if he wishes; a blog owner could even disable commenting altogether if he wanted to.

Due to my support of the blog the user that was banned came onto my own blog and posted many comments from different names. All of the quotes I am showing here were intended by the poster to be public since he used the "Comment" feature of this blog.

Hey ..., you're a total dunce. Your mother should be ashamed to know she gave birth to such a sissyfied nitwit.

You call yourself a Catholic? You're an idiot.

BTW are you a homo? Just wondering after seeing your photo.

Well, that's nice. For the record, I'm not a homosexual; I am getting married next summer to a beautiful woman. This person continued to flame so I changed my blog settings so that I would have to approve messages prior to publication on my blog. The poster continued ranting.

Next time keep you efing mouth shut birdbrain

But wait, there was more hate in my email inbox!

I see you're sooooo brave over at American Papist where you can shoot off your big mouth, but get you alone over here and you are a sniveling crybaby cowering in the corner with your "Comment moderation has been enabled. All comments must be approved by the blog author."

hahahahahahaha Which means we can post all we want and you just sit there and listen. We don't have to listen to YOUR bull**** you coward.

You're what we call a real piece of work.

This poster claims to be defending the Blessed Virgin Mary. Defending her is certainly honorable; I do agree. However, it is not right, in fact sinful, to personally attack those that you disagree with. Using silly cuss words certainly does not help any one's credibility. Thus, I feel like this is the perfect example to illustrate why hate is such a horrible thing.

The Bible instructs us about hate, "whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him" (1 John 2:11). Therefore I pray for the one posting such hateful comments. Through such expression of hate he is lost in darkness. Hopefully the hate coming from him will subside. Regardless, I forgive him and I love him.

Where does this darkness of hate lead? For many people, hate is temporary. For others, hate builds on top of itself and is very hard to overcome. For still others, hate is treasured and encouraged and will lead to dire circumstances. The hate of reproduction in our society has lead to the acceptance of birth control and lead to the acceptance of elective abortions. Many women despise their bodies. I have heard of women who say things such as "I'm so happy I got rid of my uterus" after having a hysterectomy. No uterus, no children. The hate of human reproduction leads to a hate of children. Many people will say things like "having a child now will take away my ability to have fun." Children are seen as a burden rather than a blessing. This has lead to people despising their elder family members who they need to take care of. Euthanasia is slowly becoming accepted. We need to reverse hate of our neighbors, family, children, and our own bodies. If we do not reverse this hate then hate will further damage our society in ways most people could never imagine.

I have personally experienced hate when I protest against the horror of abortion. Just by holding a sign passersby would yell profanities, show their middle fingers at me with pride, and throw objects at me with the intention of harming me. By the grace of God I have been able to respond with kindness. They are mad at me for reasons that I may not understand. Thus, I pray for the healing of their hearts.

Jesus tells us what we should do in response to hate, "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you" (Luke 6:27-28). God bless the one who continues to send me hateful comments. I pray that your hate will be reversed and that you will have a peaceful life without sin. God loves you. Let us all go forth and reverse hate in our community and our society. Let us replace hate with a never ending supply of love. “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 John 4:16). Let us bring God back into our world.

God Made Me be a Nurse

When I was a child I had a dream of composing music for video games as a career. Today I am a Licensed Vocational Nurse in the state of California. Hopefully, in little over a year I will become a Registered Nurse. What made me decide to become a nurse? I certainly didn't do it; God made me do it!

Just three years ago I was a college student with my eyes set on being involved in the video gaming industry. Not once did I ever consider going into the medical field in my whole life. One day my fiance and I were driving around town. Without thinking I sputtered out the words "wonder if I want to be a nurse?" What the heck was I saying? I didn't want to say that! In fact, it felt like I wasn't the one saying it at all. Today I realize what made me say those words; God made me do it!

For everything that God does there is a reason. For me, the reason has recently become very obvious. I have consistently been Catholic and Pro-Life. Have I been a Catholic blindly? No I have not. When I was challenged by various anti-Catholic high school friends I took the time on my own to learn all I could about my Catholic faith. I found that the more that I was challenged the stronger my faith became. During my journey of faith I found one very strikingly serious issue facing our nation: legalized induced abortion. I have always known that my faith values unborn human beings as equals to those who are born. What I did not know was the reasons behind this belief.

I searched and searched for information about abortion. I looked at both sides of the issue. If my own faith was wrong regarding this issue I certainly could not remain a Catholic. I understood, in a vague sense, the hardships that many women go through prior to making the decision to remove the growing human being inside of them. Abortion was no easy decision even if it was legal and easily accessed. My question was "what right is more important: the right of an unborn child to life or the right of a woman to end a pregnancy?" In the end I came to an affirmation of faith. I knew that while many women may face hardships due to pregnancy it in no way entitled them to destroy a baby developing inside of their body. All people have a right to life. As such, the right to life trumps all other rights.

During my search for truth regarding abortion I gained a heart for all those involved in the dilemma. I had so much reason to care for pregnant women and unborn children. My own mother was pregnant with me inside of her womb! For her protection and sharing of love I am eternally grateful. I wanted to show the love that mothers have for their children to all people. These were feelings in the depth of my mind and soul. The only way that it came out of me was in my expressions and, eventually, in my strive to become a nurse.

While I was in nursing school I still had doubts about becoming a nurse. I have even had doubts about a nursing career very recently. However, what was clear was that it has always been God's intention for me to be a nurse. The clearest example that showed me that nursing is where I belong was when I went through the four week obstetrics rotation in nursing school. This was where I was able to see the beauty of life coming into the world. This was where I was able to truly show my inner-most emotions of gratitude to all mothers all around the world. The experience was absolutely surprising.

The first birth that I saw was that of a delivery by the surgical procedure cesarean section. During the procedure I saw the uterus outside of the woman's body. It was such a wonderful sight. Biology and spirituality mixes through the purpose of one organ. Biologically speaking, the uterus has no knowledge of what it does. However, the uterus has a divine purpose to nurture and bring forth life! Then I saw the baby being born. The baby was covered with blood and amniotic fluid from the procedure. I looked past these factors and saw a beautiful, perfect human being. Soon thereafter the baby was taken to the nursery while the mother was brought to the post-anesthesia recovery room. I was placed at the bedside of the woman and monitored her vital signs. I observed the nurse administer medications ordered by the obstetrician for the woman. After the woman stabilized properly she was transfered to postpartum where I assisted licensed nurses to take care of her. I helped her walk to the bathroom, monitored her condition, comforted her, gave her advice I learned during nursing school, and did what I could to aid in her recovery.

Following all that I did for her, the mother made sure that I knew how much she was thankful for my help. What I did for her fit so perfectly with my psyche.

I had a similar experience with a natural delivery. It was a magnificent experience. I aided in the advice for breastfeeding and watched in wonder at the newborn's perfect form. God is so great. I did all that I could for this woman as well. The experience I had with the first mother was reaffirmed with the second. God intended me to help mothers survive and thrive; God intended me to save the lives of unborn children through the science of nursing.

Does this mean that my childhood aspiration to compose video game music is dead? It is never dead. God has not stopped working in my life. God made me do it!

"The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." Luke 18:27

The Most Selfish Act

What do we think and feel about motherhood?

When I think of motherhood I think of a kind, warm, giving, and loving woman comforting me with a hug as I cry. Oftentimes I feel awestruck knowing that I cannot experience as a man what all mothers do. In a conversation with my aunt about the experience of pregnancy I gained some insight of motherhood. She told me that she felt a rush of joy when she felt her child move inside of her womb. She expressed that pregnancy was a fulfilling experience that she would never trade for anything else in the world. She also mentioned how much of a bond she had with the child inside of her.

I cannot fathom the experience, nor will I ever experience it personally.

Soon I will be married. By the grace of God, I pray that I will be a father and that my fiance will be a mother. When I look into my fiance's eyes I can feel motherhood at such a deep level. When I feel her sense of motherhood I realize that there is something about a woman that a man will never have. Unexplainable in words, what man cannot have is the deep feelings that mothers possess. These are degrees of bonding with her children. Such an outpouring of love can never be grasped properly by a man. It is selflessness that is at the heart of motherhood.

If motherhood was so magnificent of a thing, how could therapeutic abortion be so prevalent? This has been a question that I have struggled with so much in my life. If motherhood during pregnancy and throughout the lifespan of a woman was so strong and wonderful, how could so many mothers be complacent to killing their unborn children? The problem was not that I didn't know the answer. The problem was being able to believe the answer.

Selfishness has grown, slowly but constantly, in our society. People demand that they should be able to have sex with whomever and whenever they want. People demand that whatever career they choose should be as easily obtainable as possible. People demand to increase every possible convenience to make their days easier. People demand so much just for their own self gratification. The eventual fruit of this selfishness is death! If what people demand is in the way, get rid of it!

To take it a step further, if a new human being is in the way of my life, kill it! This idea is so very hard to believe--yet it is very true. This way of thinking has become part of the fabric of today's society in the United States.

I have so often looked at the abortion debate from both sides. When I look at the side in favor of legalized abortion, I have always seen selfishness as the underlying cause. "A woman shouldn't be punished with a baby." When I look at the side in favor of protecting unborn life, I have always seen concern for least among us. "The unborn are human beings and should be protected." Instead of siding with those who already have power, I have decided to protect those who have no power.

I have taken a lesson from the understanding I have of motherhood, albeit elementary. The lesson is that I must not be selfish. I must give of myself fully to others. I have also learned that while mothers must strive to be true mothers, so must fathers strive to be true fathers. As a future father, I must protect those who are the weakest among us. As a future father, I must give of myself to all those around me.

Abortion is the most selfish act. It is the destruction of motherhood.

Every Life is a Blessing

The following video is a story of one of God's children. It is a story that shows that all of God's children are precious no matter what. We are all valued. We all have a purpose in life. Many times we touch other's lives without realizing it. God loves every one of us. I found this video from a blog named La Vite e'Bella when I was browsing around on the internet.



Eliot had what is called Trisomy 18 (or Edward's Syndrome). What causes Trisomy 18 is a genetic defect that causes a child to be born with multiple medical difficulties such as heart defects, kidney problems, part of the intestines protruding outside of the body, delayed growth, small jaw and head, among others. (1) Eliot lived a blessed life and touched the hearts of many people. Today, Eliot touched my heart.

Statistics show that many Trisomy 18 children are born dead (stillbirth) and many others die during or shortly after birth. Still, there are some who have the genetic condition that live into their 20's and 30's. (2) Does this mean that we not value these lives?

People that advocate for abortion for fetuses diagnosed with Down Syndrome certainly would not mind advocating for abortion in this case either. Even today's medical establishment commonly suggests abortion for fetuses with defects. In one of my nursing textbooks it states "The most common reason for undergoing amniocentesis is to determine if there is a fetal abnormality so that the pregnancy might be ended (elective abortion) before the age of viability." (3) Research of law and actual abortion practice will yield that abortion is legal during all nine months of pregnancy. Clinics will most often limit the abortions that they will do and/or advertise, however. In my own Yellow Pages an abortion clinic named Family Planning Associates advertises abortions up to 22 weeks gestation at which time the fetus can then be realistically considered viable.


Fetus at 24 weeks of development (4)

Every life is a blessing and deserves to be protected. These is no distinguishable line to determine person-hood other than at conception. Thus, life must be protected from conception until natural death.

Those who support legalized abortion will dehumanize the unborn and will use language to express this. Do the research yourself and do so with the intention of wanting to love and care for all human beings in this world.

"Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'" Matthew 19:14

1. Trisomy 18 Foundation, What Is Trisomy 18?, 2008. Accessed November 15, 2008.

2. eMedicine, Trisomy 18, August 8, 2007. Accessed November 25, 2008.

3. Klossner, N and Hatfield, Nancy. Introductory Maternity and Pediatric Nursing. Page 442, 107. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 2006.

4. Medline Plus, Fetal Development, October 19, 2007. Accessed November 25, 2008.

A Murder Trial

THE COURT: Except here you are crushing the head of a baby.

JOHNSON: Correct.

The crowd went silent after finishing Johnson's description of how he murdered a little baby. He described how he was given money to murder this unwanted child. He went on to describe his method of tearing the arms and legs from the baby. After doing so, the baby was still alive so he decided to crush the skull of the baby to finish the job.

After a moment of silence, the judge declared Johnson to be guilty of first-degree murder. The judge sentenced Johnson to a life sentence in prison. Once the court had convened, the crowd started to murmur and leave the court-room.

"How could anyone kill a baby like that in such cold blood" asked Howard.

"There is no way to know how someone could do that. I could never imagine doing something like that" answered Sarah. She continued "I wish that I could comfort and save that baby. The baby was unwanted by the parents; I want a baby. I would have done anything to become the parent of that baby.

Howard held Sarah close to himself as they walked through hallway of the courthouse, "I feel the same way. No child should be murdered in this way." A tear went down Sarah's face as Howard said a short prayer "God, accept that baby into your loving hands."

---

Except Johnson was not on trial for murder. Dr. Timothy Johnson was describing to Judge Richard Casey what happens in a legal medical procedure called Dilation and Extraction (D&E) to accomplish therapeutic abortion that terminates pregnancy usually in the 2nd trimester. (1) (2) 11% percent of abortions are done past 12 weeks into the pregnancy states the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute. (3) So how many abortions does this equate to in the United States? 1.21 million abortions were done in 2005. (3) This means that 137,500 abortions were done past 12 weeks of pregnancy in 2005.


Fetus at 12 weeks of development (4)
14-week D&E abortion (5)
23-week D&E abortion (5)

The reaction that our country has over 100,000 babies being murdered either in this way or in ways similar after 12 weeks of development has been... no reaction at all. Why does our public not respond to this atrocity? There are some words that may shine light on this: ignorance, denial, fear, selfishness, and carelessness.

Let us react with love and action to stop these and all abortions. Refuse to remain ignorant. Refuse to deny the reality of abortion. Refuse to fear prosecution from family, friends, and community. Refuse to be selfish and only think of our own situation. Let us start caring for the smallest and more defenseless among us. Let us stand up and fight for the unborn who have no voice of their own.

Open your eyes.

1. Concerned Women for America, Abortionists reveal inhumanity in testimony on partial-birth abortion, April 4, 2004, Accessed November 12, 2008.

2. WebMD, Dilation and evacuation (D&E) for abortion, October 6, 2006, Accesssed November 12, 2008.

3. Guttmacher Institute, Facts on induced abortion in the United States, July 2008, Accessed November 12, 2008.

4. BabyCenter, Fetal development week by week, 2008, Accessed November 12, 2008.

5. Abort73 and Nucleus Medical Art, Abortion Techniques, 2007, Accessed November 12, 2008.

Demand the Truth

I found a vital blog post at RealChoice. I cannot let this post by Christina Dunigan go by without linking to it on my own blog. It is vital that as many people have knowledge regarding the practice of therapeutic abortions.

As a side note, I sent Obama a picture of an aborted fetus at change.gov. I'm sure he'd love to see the fruit of his labor. Let us pray that our president-elect will see the truth and change for the better.

"...the truth will make you free." (John 8:32)

A New Era of "Change" for the Unborn

A Christian supporter of president elect Barack Obama stated yesterday "Most important never give up, never give up the fight for the least among us." (1) Let that apply to us who opposed Barack Obama becoming president. What is Obama's intention for the least among us?

President elect Barack Obama voted four times against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act (BAIPA) in the state of Illinois as a state senator. This same bill in the United States Senate passed without one "no" vote. The bill required that if a fetus was born alive that immediate medical care must be used to save the newborn's life. In 2002, Obama stated "As I understand it, this (BAIPA) puts the burden on the attending physician who has determined, since they were performing this procedure, that, in fact, this is a nonviable fetus." (2) Yet, viability is considered to be determined around 23 weeks gestation: "a fetus less than 23 weeks' gestation has almost no chance of surviving outside of the womb." (3) Surgical abortions which fail to kill the fetus at birth are most often the result of the fetus being at or beyond the stage of viability. This is what our country, the United States of America, voted for.

President elect Barack Obama claimed at a speech to Planned Parenthood in July 2007 that his first act as president would be to sign into law the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA). (4) What will the FOCA do? It will reinforce the legality of abortion in all nine months of pregnancy, parental informed consent laws in all states voted by popular vote will be overturned, it will require all hospitals to either perform abortions or else not receive any federal funding, conscience-protection laws will be overturned, will reverse state laws requiring that only physicians can perform abortions, the partial-birth abortion (dilation and extraction or D&X) will be re-legalized, among others. (4) This is what our country, the United States of America, voted for.

President elect Barack Obama will very likely have an opportunity to elect judges to the Supreme Court that subscribe to his ideology. Thus, the court case Roe v. Wade and the companion case Doe v. Bolton that legalized abortion in all nine months of pregnancy will not be challenged. Roe v. Wade allowed restrictions on abortion in the second and third trimesters but Doe v. Bolton gave "health exceptions" to mean something as trivial as psychological to mean "health." Furthermore, psychological "health" was never defined. Roe v. Wade will not be overturned while so many other pro-life laws will be through FOCA. This is what our country, the United States of America, voted for.

It's a new era of "change." A change that will further endanger the lives of thousands and maybe even millions of unborn human beings. How is this "the fight for the least among us"? (1)

"Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great." (Luke 9:48 NAB)

We must do all that we can to prevent this further "change" into a culture of death. Let us defy all odds and live the pure and true Christian life. Be a voice for the unborn!


Image courtesy MileHiMama

1. Barack Obama Community Blogs, Nov. 3, 2008. http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/stateupdate4/gGg8sm/commentary - Accessed Nov. 5, 2008.

2. Catholic News Agency, Aug. 22, 2008. http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=13617 - Accessed Nov. 5, 2008.

3. Klossner, N and Hatfield, Nancy. Introductory Maternity and Pediatric Nursing. Page 442, 107. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 2006.

4. National Catholic Register, October 19, 2008. http://www.ncregister.com/site/article/16236 - Accessed Nov. 5, 2008.

Just a MySpace Coward

I used to have an account on MySpace. I would check on it every once in a while. I also posted some information against abortion on it. One picture I had on the MySpace page was of an aborted fetus at 22 weeks gestation. Family Planning Associates Medical Group advertises in my local Yellow Pages for abortion up to 22 weeks. If the image that I am showing is of a legal surgical procedure, then surely it would not be an abomination to show, right? If I were to show a removed portion of a stomach ulcer, people might be a bit disgusted but they would not want to get the picture removed. Removal of a stomach ulcer is just as much legal as a 22 week abortion.

**Photo of a dead child from an abortion was removed by Photo Bucket. Evidently it's too harsh of a truth for them to allow too. I need my own server again... Go to HerestheBlood.com for real photos and videos of abortion.

My eight year old nephew has a MySpace account which was posted by his mother. An eight year old boy having a MySpace account is against the rules of MySpace. I reported this violation to MySpace but the account is still up. My nephew's mother emailed me and said that she will keep my nephew from being my MySpace friend because of the abortion picture. Shortly thereafter, my account got hacked into and the abortion picture got removed. I put the abortion picture back up. As soon as I put the picture up, my account was hacked into again to have it removed again. Removal and putting the picture back happened numerous times until one day I was locked out of my MySpace account. Today I found out that my MySpace account was deleted by the person who hacked into my account.

On my MySpace page I asked the individual hacking into my account to discuss the abortion topic with me. Instead, this person decided to remain a coward and remain silent. Just because of one photo my privacy and free speech were violated.

This ordeal is actually why I started this blog. Let us pray that this account does not get hacked into either. It is wrong to forcefully silence a person based upon a belief. The person who hacked into my MySpace account could have decided to block the URL so that my nephew could not go to it. Instead, they decided to fully attack me. This shows the weakness, fear, and denial that pro-choice people have in their hearts. It truly is sad.

The Right Choice

            You are presented with two choices. The choice is very hard for you to make. One of the choices is encouraged by your conscience, family, and education. The other choice is encouraged by how hard your current situation is, the resolution to the problem, and what many of your friends tell you. The choice is whether or not you should start using dangerous hallucinogenic drugs.

Your conscience tells you that using this drug is wrong, your family has always told you to stay away from it, and your education has told you about all of the bad things that can happen with drug use. You reason with yourself. Your friends have told you that it will make you feel better. You have been going through so much stress in your life; you just need to have an escape from your life and current situation.

Many women face a similar choice, but on an entirely different issue. The choice is abortion. Many times women are unsure if abortion is the right choice to end their unexpected pregnancy. In the United States, "approximately half of unintended pregnancies in the U.S. result from a contraceptive method failure." (1) By what they are told, abortion is a woman’s choice. The abortion will end their worry and allow them to have an escape from their current situation. Many women feel trapped and come to the conclusion that abortion is the only way out of their predicament.

While the reasons for doing drugs and for having an abortion are both oftentimes very real and legitimate, does it make those things right? When someone is truly trying to do what is right, is any choice acceptable?

Some choices are considered wrong and are discouraged in our society. One way that choices are discouraged is through law. Dangerous hallucinogenic drugs are illegal in an attempt to reduce the amount of people who use them. Society has determined, through research, previous experiences, and morals that these drugs should not be allowed in their country. Other choices that are regulated by laws include certain sexual acts, robbery, murder, extortion, perjury, and even how to drive a car and walk around public streets. Laws are created by those representing the people who believe which choices are right and wrong. These laws do not guarantee the eradication of such acts; the laws aid in the reduction of them.

Is abortion considered a wrong choice in the United States of America? An ABC News/Washington Post poll asked if abortion should be legal altogether or if it should be regulated in some way. 22% of those polled believed that abortion should legal in all cases while 76% believed that abortion should be at least illegal in certain situations. Altogether, 44% stated that abortion should be illegal in most cases and in all cases combined. (2)

With so many people believing that abortion should be at least illegal in some circumstances, is there law to reflect this belief? No. Seven out of the nine Supreme Court justices voted in the case Roe v. Wade, alongside the Doe v. Bolton decision, to legalize abortion in all nine months of pregnancy in 1973.

The case of Roe v. Wade states that abortion can occur without regulation in the first trimester, that the mother’s health in the second month is the only issue regulating abortion in the second trimester, and that abortions in the third trimester can be regulated except “for the preservation of the life or health of the mother.” (3)

The case Roe v. Wade would have allowed some abortions in the third trimester to be illegal. Unfortunately, Doe v. Bolton extended the clause of regulation in exception of the mother’s health to also include “physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and woman’s age.” (4) Thus, even emotional hardship in a pregnancy renders abortion legal in all nine months of pregnancy, as long as a physician determines this emotional hardship. Late term abortions are commonly held within hospitals while earlier abortions are done in medical clinics.

Since Supreme Court decisions can only be overturned by itself, the 76% in our country who wish that abortion is illegal in at least some circumstances have been forced to accept legal abortion virtually unregulated in all nine months of pregnancy. Was this a choice that the United States decided? No. It was a choice that nine Supreme Court Justices decided. Was it the right choice?

The choice of the seven Supreme Court Justices that legalized abortion in all nine months of pregnancy was based upon two premises. The first premise was that zygotes, embryos, and fetuses are not human persons. The second premise was that a woman has a "right to privacy" in the United States Constitution. Both premises were based upon interpretation and personal opinion. If the first premise can be proven wrong, then there is no basis for the second. Thus, the question that must be asked is are unborn human beings human persons?

Most people, if not all, recognize that once a child is born he is certainly a human person. Today's law enacts the ideology that personhood is only recognized at birth. Some people attest that this is only point in which we can assign personhood to a new human being. Most people know that, in normal circumstances, a baby is born 40 weeks gestational age (after the pregnant woman's last menstrual period). (5) Does this mean that a baby born at 36 weeks is not a human person? Most would consider this reasoning abominable! Yet the baby is 4 weeks younger than the one born at 40 weeks. A fetus still within the womb at 38 weeks can still be legally destroyed prior to birth. So if a marker of personhood cannot be made at birth, then where can it be made?

There are those that believe that viability, the ability of a fetus to live outside of the womb, should be the marker of personhood. Has this timetable of viability remained constant? A book arguing in favor of abortion, written by Solinger, openly admitted that "fifty years go [viability] was reached after approximately thirty-four weeks' of gestation." Furthermore, the author stated "so that today, in some cases, a fetus of twenty-seven or twenty-eight weeks gestation can be rendered viable" due to medical advances. (6)  According to the nursing curriculum written by Klossner "a fetus less than 23 weeks' gestation has almost no chance of surviving outside of the womb" rather than an age less than twent-seven or twenty-eight as Solinger claims. (7) Family Planning Associates, a company that provides abortions, advertises in the Verizon Yellow Pages abortions up to twenty-two weeks' gestation in their clinics. Yet there is a chance, albeit very small, that a twenty-two week fetus could survive outside of the womb. My own neice was born years ago at between twenty-two and twenty-four weeks gestation who is today alive and well. So if a marker of personhood cannot be made at viability, then where can it be made?

Still others claim that fertilization, the moment at which the spermatozoa and ovum join to begin pregnancy, is the marker of personhood. A book titled Langman's Medical Embryology states "the main results of fertilization are as follows: restoration of the diploid (23 and 23 is 46) number of chromosomes...determination of the sex of the new individual...[and] initiation of cleavage." (8) Notice how the authors decided to use the term "new individual" when referring the newly fertilized ovum, now termed zygote. (7) The fertilized offspring zygote is a seperate entity and will continue to always be. So is fertilization where the marker of personhood be made? There is no other moment in human development that can come close.

 

1. American College of Gynecology, http://www.acog.org/departments/dept_notice.cfm?recno=18&bulletin=1084. 2008.

^{2. ABC News/Washington Post Poll. Aug. 19-22, 2008.}

^{3. Justia.com, Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), http://supreme.justia.com/us/410/113/case.html.}

^{4. Justia.com, Doe v. Bolton, 410 U.S. (1973),  http://supreme.justia.com/us/410/179/case.html.}

5. Marieb, Elaine. Human Anatomy and Physiology 6th Edition. Page 1131. Pearson Education, 2004.

6. Solinger, Rickie. Pregnancy and Power: A Short History of Reproductive Politics in America. Page 19. NYU Press, 2005.

7. Klossner, N and Hatfield, Nancy. Introductory Maternity and Pediatric Nursing. Page 442, 107. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 2006.

8. Sadler, Langman, and Leland. Langman's Medical Embryology. Page 37. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 2006.