From the Desk of Carol Soelberg: : Each year, on the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade, the U.S. joins with many in the international pro-life community in celebrating life and recommitting to the effort to save the lives of the unborn who are threatened by abortion. Anyone who saw the U.S. news stories and photos of last weekend's coast-to-coast March for Life rallies will recognize that the pro-life movement is vibrant and growing! That growth is certainly enhanced through knowledge of the issues that swirl around abortion. To that end, we once again share with you the insights of our life specialist, Melissa Anderson, this week on viability and fetal pain. The Reality of Viability and Fetal Pain By Melissa Anderson Viability... An awkward word with no real meaning, yet the word on which all abortion law is dictated. Viability. The moment at which a preborn infant is able to live completely separated from her mother. Viability is usually thought to occur after the 25th week of gestation, yet preborn infants as young as 19 weeks have survived, and thrived, outside their mother's womb. Newborn babies have survived who, just prior to birth, were considered not at all viable and well within the realm of the abortionist. So let's talk about Amillia Taylor . She wasn't viable. In fact, at under twenty weeks gestation Amillia Taylor was more than one entire month shy of viability. Though her mother could have chosen to end her child's life at any moment, she actually had to lie to doctors about the gestational age of her preborn baby to receive any medical aid for her infant. Amillia Taylor weighed just ten ounces, not even a pound, and was only nine inches long. To put that in perspective Amillia weighed less than a single potato and was only an inch or two longer than a ball point pen.
In 2007, Kimberely Mueller was born also weighing only ten ounces. Just shy of 25 weeks, Kimberely was also not viable. As big as a potato. As long as a ball point pen. Not viable. Abortable. And yet she lives now with her parents in Germany, a healthy four-year-old girl. While the elusive definition of viability looms, the pro-abortion camp hides under it because it is a word with so little actual meaning. And while we're talking about viability, let's also talk about fetal pain. Elective abortion on demand is usually permitted beyond the period of "viability", which is now set at around the 25th week of pregnancy. But when does a preborn infant begin to feel pain? Does a preborn infant feel pain prior to the line we've decided to call viability?
Let's think about this one. Neither Amillia Taylor or Kimberely Mueller were viable at the time of their birth. And yet both infants received pain medication at birth. Is pain medication given to an infant incapable of feeling pain? Or does the exit from the womb of the mother automatically make an infant capable of feeling pain?
We see evidence of a physician's acceptance of the fact that a preborn infant feels pain in other areas of medicine, fetal surgery for example. Fetal surgery is conducted on a preborn infant with certain medical problems that can be resolved or reconstructed prior to birth . The procedures are done prior to birth because a preborn infant is able to grow and heal at a much faster rate making way for sometimes seamless recoveries. During fetal surgeries, the preborn infant is usually given pain medication.
Are we to believe that a wanted preborn infant is capable of feeling pain, but that an unwanted preborn infant is incapable of the same feeling? Surely not. Are we to believe that birth creates the ability to feel pain? Surely not. The only conclusion we can come to is that preborn infants are capable of feeling pain at a very young age and that if one preborn can feel pain enough to receive medication during surgery another is capable of feeling pain during an abortion.
Few would hardly argue that Ana Rosa Rodriguez felt no pain at all when her arm was severed from her body during the abortion she survived. Or that Gianna Jensen felt no pain when saline burned her skin during the abortion she survived. Gianna Jensen lost her twin brother in the same abortion procedure. DId he feel none of the pain she survived? When Gianna stood in front of congress to tell her story, she was boycotted. Only two lawmakers listened. The rest refused to hear, but she still spoke. Six states now have laws which constrain abortion on the premise that the preborn infant feels pain. Some 25 states are looking at similar legislation. 1. Support these measures by contacting your elected leaders and then get involved in the effort to pass this type of legislation. 2. Support Crisis Pregnancy Centers and their role in saving unborn lives. 3. Be compassionate and generous with all forms of life 4. Educate your children and those in your circle of influence. Help them to articulate a solid pro-life position as they understand the issues of viability and fetal pain . We must make the general public and our law makers listen. Even if we are boycotted. Even if only two listen. We must still speak .
Melissa Anderson is a lawyer in San Antonio, Texas. She is the mother of seven crazily
adorable children and an author of children's books. In her spare time, Melissa volunteers extensively with Court Appointed Special Advocates educating the community on issues related to child abuse and neglect.
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