THE SUPREME COURT AGREED TO HEAR A CASE TO PROTECT FETAL LIFE

The case the Supreme Court agreed to hear which protects Fetal Life is “Thomas E. Dobbs, State Health Officer of the Mississippi Department of Health, et al. v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, et al. June 18, 2020 case # (18-60868). Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s health Organization, No. 19-1392, concerns a law enacted in 2018 by the Mississippi Legislature that banned abortions if the probable gestation age of the unborn fetus was determined to be more than 15 weeks. Lower courts said the law was unconstitutional under Roe v. Wade which forbids states from banning abortions before fetal viability, the point a fetus can sustain life outside the womb which is between 23-24 weeks. The Mississippi abortion clinic sued saying the law violated Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the 1992 decision that affirmed Roe’s core holding. I am here to say the landmark case of 1973, {Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, 935.ct 705 35 Led.2d 147}. Giving woman a constitutionally guaranteed unqualified right to an abortion in the first trimester of her pregnancy is obsolete and bad law based on the advancement of over 49 years of Medical Science.

I want to give some graphic detail on the development of a fetus. At the moment of fertilization, a baby’s genetic make-up is complete including its sex. 24 hours after fertilization, the egg begins dividing into many cells. Within three weeks of fertilization the blastocyte cells form an embryo. At this time, the embryo’s first nerve cells have formed. From conception to the eight week of development a baby is referred to as an embryo, from eight weeks until the baby is born it is called a fetus. I am giving the readers that had the courage to continue following this article such detail, so they have a clearer understanding what is at stake here.

The fertilized egg grows in the amniotic sac, which cushions the growing embryo. In the first few weeks, a primitive face will take form, large dark circles for eyes, the mouth, lower jaw and throat are developing. The circulation system will begin with blood cells, and the heart tube will beat 65 times a minute by the end of the fourth week. Now this fetus may not be able to sustain its life outside the womb, it is not meant too at this stage, but a heartbeat is “life”.

From the fifth week to the eighth week the facial feature of the embryo is developing, arms, legs, fingers, toes, and eyes are all forming. The brain, spinal cord and central nervous system is well formed, also the digestive tract and sensory organs begin to develop. By the sixth week of development a heartbeat can be detected, which means the brain is functioning.  By the end of the eighth week the embryo is called a fetus and is about one inch long weighing less than an ounce.

The ninth week through the twelfth week the fetus’s arms, hands, fingers, feet, and toes are fully formed. The fetus will open and close its fists and mouth. fingernails, toenails begin to develop, and the external ears are formed. Teeth are forming under the gums, and the fetus’s reproductive organs are developed. The circulatory and urinary systems are working, by this time the fetus is fully formed. The fetus is about four inches long and weighs about one ounce.

We have reached the end of the twelfth week of pregnancy and we have a fully formed fetus, heartbeat, and all. Now it is obvious the fetus at twelve weeks is not capable of sustaining life outside of the womb but that does not make the life of the fetus any less human.

Please pay close attention to the following details of the fetus development from the thirteenth week to the sixteenth week. The heartbeat is audible, the fingers, toes, eyelids, eyebrows, eyelashes, nails, and hair are formed. The fetus will even suck its thumb, yawn, and stretch. The genitalia are now fully developed. The fetus is about six inches long and weighs about four ounces. Now after the fifteenth week of fetal development in Mississippi, you cannot have an abortion. The Mississippi Legislature had the moral insight to pass this law, but to me it is still not enough.

From the twenty-first week through the twenty-fourth week the fetus skin is reddish in color, and veins are visible through the fetus translucent skin. The fetus will respond to sounds by moving or increasing its pulse. The brainstem which sits above the spinal cord which is responsible for most of our vital functions is largely mature by the twenty-fourth week of gestation. The brainstem is responsible for many of our body’s most vital functions heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure. The fetus by this time in development is about twelve inches long and weighs about two pounds. A fetus born prematurely from the twenty-third week on may survive with intensive care. According to Roe v. Wade the fetus is not capable of sustaining life outside of the womb, during the first twenty-four weeks of gestation so a woman has a constitutional right to abort this human life.

An interesting fact not mentioned in every article advocating for Roe v. Wade, a fetus can feel pain. “Fetal surgeons find it necessary to sedate the unborn child with anesthesia to prevent the unborn child from engaging in vigorous movement in reaction to invasive surgery”. (115^th Congress 1^st Session October 4, 2017 “Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act”).

A fetus brain while developing is conscious of outside stimuli and sounds. For example, a fetus will react differently to the sound of its mother’s voice over a stranger’s voice while in the womb. A fetus will either stay still when a doctor examines the womb with a sonogram, or it will move away from the location of the probe because it is upset or frightened.

Pro women rights groups or politicians that advocate for Roe v. Wade, never mention the Unborn Victims of Violence Act that was introduced to the United States Congress in 1999, which defines a violent assault committed against a pregnant woman as being a crime against two victims. The Unborn Victims of Violence Act was passed in 2004 after the murder of Laci Peterson and the fetus she was carrying. The Unborn Victims of Violence Act law makes it a crime for a stranger to harm a woman and the fetus, or kill a woman and the fetus, yet Roe v. Wade makes it legal for a pregnant woman to kill a fetus.

Intercourse between a man and a woman is natural and fantastic, and with the advancement of medical science unwanted pregnancies can easily be avoided. Men and woman can practice safe sex, to avoid a pregnancy. Woman can be on birth control pills to avoid a pregnancy. Men can have a vasectomy to avoid a pregnancy. There is the morning after pill a woman can take to avoid the development of an embryo into a fetus.

I believe a woman has a right to decide what she does with her body, I do not believe a woman has the right to take the life of a fetus. Overturning Roe v. Wade has nothing to do with what Political Party you belong to or which President appointed which sitting member of the Supreme Court. Overturning Roe v. Wade has everything to do with protecting the human life of those to tiny and weak to protect themselves.