Some or all of the content on this web
page is reliable but this web page might, in part or in whole, no longer
present our views on the subject of abortion.
This page provides a part of the historical backdrop for our current
views. To read about our current views,
go to Abortion: The Smart Pro-Life Position.
THE LIFE FOUNDATIONS NEXUS
PREBORTION (EMBRYOTOMATIC PREVENTION)
ABORTION (EMBRYOTOMATIC TERMINATION)
A Synthesis Of Scriptural Ethics And
Science
This page is superseded, above all else, by our article titled Abortion
FAQ.
PREFACE
Before you begin reading this article, we want to comment on the
greatest problem that people have in determining whether abortion is murder.
How do I know
that an unborn child is ALIVE?!
This problem is actually very easy to resolve. How do I know that an unborn child is
alive? Well, if the unborn child is NOT
alive, abortion is NOT murder and, if the unborn child IS alive, abortion IS
murder. But WHICH IS IT?! If you can’t determine whether the unborn
child is alive and you destroy the unborn child, you are POSSIBLY committing
murder.
Would you take a handgun, load a single bullet, spin the cylinder,
point it at the head of a newborn baby, and pull the trigger? WOULD YOU TAKE A CHANCE ON KILLING A NEWBORN
BABY? WOULD YOU PLAY RUSSIAN ROULETTE
WITH A NEWBORN BABY?!
NO!
Destroying an unborn child, IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHETHER THE
UNBORN CHILD IS ALIVE, is the same as TAKING A CHANCE ON KILLING A
NEWBORN BABY IN A GAME OF RUSSIAN ROULETTE!
NO SANE PERSON PLAYS RUSSIAN ROULETTE WITH NEWBORN BABIES! Therefore, (the Russian
Roulette Principle):
NO SANE PERSON PLAYS RUSSIAN ROULETTE WITH
UNBORN CHILDREN!
Now, all that being said, you
CAN know whether an unborn child is alive!
Read on.
PREBORTION (EMBRYOTOMATIC PREVENTION)
AND ABORTION (EMBRYOTOMATIC TERMINATION)
The ethics of Scripture are
that murder and extortion are sins.
What is extortion? Webster’s
says “to obtain from a person by force, intimidation, or undue or illegal
power.” Particularly, note the words
“to obtain from a person by force.” A
child born of rape is a child obtained from a woman by force. They are a child extorted from a woman. Any proper view of abortion must satisfy
both God’s commandment against murder AND HIS COMMANDMENT AGAINST EXTORTION.
If a choice had to be made
between murder and extortion, you would have to choose extortion and allow the
unborn child to grow in the womb.
However, this choice does NOT have to be made. Did God know that rape might occur when he planned the
development of the unborn child?
Yes. (This is not an implicit
statement about God’s foreknowledge.)
Could God have made his unborn child development plan take into
consideration the possibility of rape?
Of course. Should we not then
see if he built anything into his unborn child development plan that would
allow us to obey the commandment against murder and to prevent
extortion? Of course.
Adel
K. Afifi, M.D. and Ronald A. Bergman, Ph.D.
Peer Review Status:
Internally Peer Reviewed
http://www.vh.org/pediatric/provider/pediatrics/FetalYoungCNS/07PrenatalPerformance.html
The
cardiovascular and nervous systems are the first two systems to begin to
function in the embryo. The heart beats at three weeks of gestation
[underline ours]. The first neural reflex occurs at eight weeks
[underline ours] and consists of hand withdrawal in response to stimulation of
the lip region. Touching the lip region at eleven weeks leads to a more complex
movement of swallowing. A more complex reflex response occurs at fourteen weeks
in which touching the face region leads to complex response of head rotation
and body stretching. At twenty-two weeks, stretching of the body and pursing of
lips occur, and at twenty-nine weeks sucking movements appear. At birth, all
reflexes are of brain stem origin with minimal cortical control.
Leviticus 17:11 says “the
life of the flesh is in the blood.” The
unborn child is not circulating its own “life of the flesh” until “the heart
beats at three weeks,” that is, until the unborn child is three weeks old. Before then the “life of the flesh” is
circulated by the mother’s heart alone.
Before then, the unborn child is wholly a part of the mother. Before then the unborn child is inseparable
from the mother. Before then the unborn
child would die if it were removed from the mother’s womb, no matter what
measures were taken to preserve its life.
Before then the unborn child does not have everything it needs to
survive on its own. Before then the
unborn child is not self-sustaining.
When God created Adam he was immediately self-sustaining,
physiologically speaking. When a baby
is born they are immediately self-sustaining, physiologically speaking. Therefore, a less-than-three-weeks-old,
unborn child cannot be thought of in the same way that we think of a newborn
child. This suggests the possibility
that a less-than-three-weeks-old, unborn child is not yet alive. Someone might object that an unborn child
must be alive because anything with tissue of any kind is alive. Not so.
The body, the tissues, of the first man were created before he
was alive (Genesis 2:7, Job 33:4).
When does life begin? Life begins when experience begins. Experience begins at least when sensory
perception begins. Sensory perception
begins when there is a nervous system.
When does the nervous system first appear in an unborn child? Note from above, “the first neural reflex
occurs at eight weeks.” In other words,
a (primitive) complete nervous system exists at eight weeks; however, don’t
jump to any conclusions.
Adel
K. Afifi, M.D. and Ronald A. Bergman, Ph.D.
Peer Review Status:
Internally Peer Reviewed
http://www.vh.org/pediatric/provider/pediatrics/FetalYoungCNS/04Histogenesis.html
The
next stage in development of the nervous system is called the stage of
histogenesis (formation of tissues). During this stage of development, nerve
cells (neurons) proliferate (multiply), then migrate from the center of the
neural tube to a peripheral location, and finally mature by the growth of
processes, myelination, and the development of contact with other neurons
(synapses). Neuronal proliferation occurs between two and four months of
gestation [underline ours]. Neuronal migration spans a period between four
and nine months of gestation. Maturation continues for some years beyond birth.
Note the corroborating
statement “neuronal proliferation occurs between two and four months of
gestation.” Again, in the most conservative
interpretation of the above text, it is eight weeks before there is neuronal
proliferation, that is, a rapid increase in the number of nerve cells, which is
necessary before you can have a (primitive) complete nervous system.
Now, are we saying that an
unborn child is not alive before it is eight weeks old? No.
What we are saying is that experience does not necessarily begin at
conception and that, therefore, life does not necessarily begin at
conception. When does experience
begin? We don’t know. But we do know this: God says that a woman shall not have a child
extorted from her. Therefore, it may be
that God has built in a period of time during which a woman can prevent the
extortion of a child. Is there divinely
sanctioned PREBORTION (prevention, not abortion, of an embryotoma
[unborn child]) in the Bible?
Possibly. See Numbers 5:27,28.
Obviously, we need to know
when life begins. We will first address
this question in general terms. Does
the Bible indicate when life begins?
Yes. The Bible indicates that
life begins sometime during a window (interval) of time. More
specifically, the Bible teaches that, generally speaking, life does not begin
until six days (reminiscent of Genesis 1:26-31) after conception. Note the words
“generally speaking” (meaning “in most cases”). The Bible indicates that life might begin less or more
than six days after conception. The
Bible also indicates how to tell if this is the case and that we are
required to determine whether or not this is the case before a prebortion, not
abortion, is allowed.
We will now address the
question of when life begins in specific terms. What follows is based on a forty-year study of both the Bible and
the research and writings of over 5,000 ministers, theologians, and Bible
scholars, over 7,000 doctors, and over 10,000 medical researchers. God has provided BIBLICAL AND MEDICAL
PRINCIPLES that enable us to make a DEFINITE DETERMINATION
as to whether or not life has begun in ANY GIVEN INSTANCE of
procreation (reproduction). (IF
YOU ARE AN ENCEINTE WOMAN, YOU CAN KNOW WHETHER THERE IS LIFE WITHIN YOU). We call these biblical and medical
principles the “LIFE TEST PRINCIPLES.”
Instruction in these principles will be found on the Life Test Principles
page. In addition, the Life Test
Principles will be taught at Pneumiatric
Prebortion Counseling Centers. The
Pneumiatry Institute is making
plans to open its first Pneumiatric
Prebortion Counseling Center sometime in
the distant future.
IN ALL CASES THAT WE HAVE
INVESTIGATED, the following is true:
There
was time to prebort an embryotoma resulting from rape before life had begun.
IN MOST CASES, the following
is true:
1. Prebortion during the first five days after conception is
not a sin when conception is the result of rape or of one of a number of other
special circumstances (which we will discuss in the future).
2. However, prebortion during the first five days is a sin in
other cases.
3. Prebortion is never murder.
IN ALL CASES, the following
is true:
1. While prebortion may not be a sin, abortion is.
2. While prebortion is never murder, abortion always is.
In conclusion, a seed is not
planted until it has maturated.
Why? It has no “life” within
itself until it has maturated. Man
was created on the sixth day and the conceptus maturates (generally speaking)
on the sixth day. We will be providing photographic
diagrams depicting the first seven days of the development of the conceptus. These diagrams show that the unborn
child, that is, the embryoblast (the initial stage of the embryotoma [unborn
child]), generally speaking, appears for the first time in the conceptus
on the sixth day. The
conceptus (containing the unborn child) is, generally speaking, ready to
be implanted (“planted”) on the sixth day.
Finally, you can see actual photographs of the first six days of the
development of the conceptus at ABORTION –
“THE SIXTH DAY RULE.”