Quick Answers

When does the unborn baby’s heart begin to beat?

• The baby’s heartbeat begins between the eighteenth and twenty-fifth day after conception.

When does the brain begin to function?

• Electrical brain waves have been recorded as early as forty days after conception.

How early can a baby survive outside the mother’s womb?

• Currently, twenty weeks is considered the accepted minimum. However, this time will be reduced as medical technology continues to improve.

How many abortions have there been?

• There have been 48,000,000 abortion in the United States alone since 1973. 1/3 of generation Y was aborted as well as 1/4 of the current generation.

What about cases of rape and incest?

• It is important to realize that pregnancy due to a rape is very, very rare. Abortions due to rape may account for up to 1.0% of the 48,000,000+ abortions done in the United States since 1973 (Reasons U.S. Women  Have Abortions, Guttmacher Institute ) — certainly not a high enough percentage from which to make laws which legalize all abortions! However, even in these rare situations abortion is not the answer. Abortion does not take away what has happened to the rape victim—she will still have been raped, whether or not she has an abortion. What must be decided now is this: should the unborn baby suffer because of the circumstances regarding her conception? The answer is no. A baby conceived from a rape is just as much of a baby conceived of love—she develops like every other person. The only 2 major studies done of girls who became pregnant after rape and incest revealed the majority of victims chose not to abort their babies. None of these girls, who either kept their babies or placed them in adoption, regretted their decision. Of the girls who chose abortion, 95% of them regretted their choice to abort.

But what about the child with disease who will die a slow death or live his life as a burden to his family?

• While situations such as these are tragic and emotional, many times people who experience the birth of a child with a disease will find that their child still lived a victorious, fulfilled life. Remember: even a life that is short is a life. As a people, we cannot start to kill the people who are a burden or who are different. This leads the way to more dangerous roads such as euthanasia of the mentally disabled or senior citizens because they are not deemed “as valuable” as people who call themselves “normal”. There are many people with diseases and disabilities who are glad that they were at least given the chance to live—and that is a chance that everyone, regardless of their health condition, should be given.

What about the population boom?

• The image of an exploding world population is false. In most developed nations, populations are growing because people are living longer and because of immigration—but the birthrate is actually dropping. In fact, today no European nation has a birthrate high enough to sustain its population. According to the latest U.S. Census and United Nations data, birthrates worldwide are down forty percent since the fifties, and continue to fall. The Social Security Administration estimates that in the next fifteen years, the senior citizen population in the U.S. will grow 100 percent, but the population of Americans ages 20 to 64 will grow only 15 percent. The problems that accompany an elderly population are already felt in China, where the population is not maintained by the birthrate, and many young people find themselves having to provide, on their own, for two parents and four grandparents.

How can a girl give up her own baby for adoption and go through life never knowing what is happening to her child?

• While placing a baby in an adoptive home may be hard at first, it is also extremely rewarding. With adoption, everyone wins: the baby, the mother and the couple adopting. But with abortion no one wins: the baby is aborted, the mother chooses to lay her body down for the procedure that will kill her child and a couple who wanted to give that baby a loving home will never see him or her.

• There are different kinds of adoptions available to mothers needing to place their babies in a secure and loving home. If a mother wishes to follow the life of her baby in his or her new home, she can opt for an open adoption in which she keeps regular contact with the family and her child as they grow. Above all, we must remember that adoption is a courageous, loving act by the birth-mother, not a hurtful thing. Adoption affirms life while abortion affirms death.