Science and the Unborn.

When the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion in 1973, the world of the unborn was shrouded in mystery. But developments in ultrasound and fetal surgery, evidence of fetal pain, and the survival of very premature babies have established unborn babies as people separate from their mothers, able to be seen and healed before they are born. Denying that they are "persons," as in the Roe v. Wade decision, is quickly becoming an untenable position in light of scientific developments.

Ultrasound

In 1973, doctors had only recently begun to use ultrasound as a diagnostic tool during pregnancy. Images were black and white, blurry, and hard for the layperson to interpret.

The decades after the Roe decision saw great strides in ultrasound technology. Researchers began using digital and color ultrasound images in the 1990s, which vastly improved their quality. The advent of three- and four-dimensional ultrasound also revolutionized the field and brought images of the unborn child to life.

Traditionally, ultrasound images were seen on a monitor screen as two-dimensional pictures. 3D ultrasound enters two-dimensional data into a computer, which reconstructs them as three-dimensional images characterized by depth and clarity.

4D ultrasound systems allow physicians (and parents) to view continuously updated three-dimensional ultrasound images, which essentially show the baby's movements in "real time."

A controversy erupted in Great Britain in July 2004 when Professor Stuart Campbell, a pioneer in the field of ultrasound scanning, released 4D images of active unborn babies taken throughout pregnancy even before the mother can feel movement. The babies can be seen opening their eyes at 18 weeks. The British newspapers especially highlighted a 12-week-old unborn baby "walking" in the womb, rubbing his/her eyes, and yawning.