2015 Abortion Stats Disprove "Blob of Cells" Myth
On the 17th of June Statistics New Zealand released the abortion statistics for the year 2015. This week we will be breaking down some messages that should be noted from the statistics, view our previous post here.One of the statistics gathered was the number of abortions carried out at each gestational age, shown in the table.
An unborn baby has value and worth in all its stages- even before it begins to resemble a newborn or develops its vital organs. at each and every stage the unborn child is very much a unique human individual. However in order to make the idea of abortion more palatable to pregnant women and the wider public many pro-abortion activists often promote the myth that most abortions occur at very early stages when the child is quite undeveloped. Many women who have undergone abortions have described
how they were told that their unborn child was not a baby but was merely a "blob of cells". Many women a understandably hurt and shocked when they discover just how developed their child was at the time of their abortion.In 2015 less than 1% of abortions occurred during or before the fifth week of pregnancy. By the fifth week of pregnancy (when the unborn baby is three weeks old) the unborn baby's heart is already beating at a steady rate, though it is not yet loud enough so that it can be heard by ultrasound it will not be long before this tiny heart will make itself heard. The baby is growing rapidly and by the sixth week of the pregnancy the basic structure of the entire nervous system (the brain and spinal cord) is already present.
Over 80% of abortions in 2015 occurred in the 8th week of pregnancy or later. By the time the child is at this stage of development all his or her major organs are present in their early stages; arms, legs and even tiny fingers and toes, though they may be webbed at this stage. The unborn baby is developing taste buds and tiny tooth buds for his or her "baby teeth". The child is easily recognisable as a tiny, developing human being.
This description is in stark contrast to what many women are told about their unborn child and it is important to clarify the discussion when speaking to people about abortion. It is deceptive of doctors and abortion advocates to speak of "blobs of tissue" and "bunches of cells" when 99% of abortions in New Zealand occur after the fifth week of pregnancy.The reality is a sad one: abortion does indeed stop a beating heart and, regardless of the age of the unborn child, abortion ends an innocent human life.