By Brittany Dyer 
Human. Heartbeat. Kicks. Fingerprints. Hiccups. Breath. Pain. Blood. Taste. Dreams. These are just a few words to explain why I am Pro-Life. These are just a few of the words that describe a baby between conception and 24 weeks after conception, which is how long one has to legally abort a baby in most states.
Let me start by saying, I can only imagine that an unplanned pregnancy is a difficult situation to face, especially if you are facing it alone. I am not minimizing these feelings or judging you for these thoughts or if this is something you have chosen in the past.
I am a research geek, so I like to see what the research says about topics like this one.
Research shows us that on the day of fertilization, the joining of an egg and a sperm, the day we have intercourse, all of the chromosomes are present. At this point, a human exists because what makes us human is the 46 chromosomes we inherit from our parents. Day 1 and there is already a tiny person inside the mother’s belly!
Twenty-two days after conception, research says that the human baby’s heart begins to beat. That is the time right after finding out you are pregnant!
At week 7, the little one will even begin kicking it’s legs. The mother may not be able to feel those kicks just yet, but the baby has already begun moving around inside the mother’s womb.
By week 8, the baby has already developed its fingerprints-the thing that differentiates each of us from another! It has only taken 8 weeks for a tiny one to establish its very own distinct identity in this world!
In week 10, this tiny life can already turn it’s head. This human baby has already started hiccuping as well. Again, the mother may not be able to feel it yet, but this tiny baby has now started responding to the environment around it.
At week 11, the baby has taken its first breath! The tiny baby is telling us it is preparing for life outside of the mother’s belly!
Twelve weeks after conception the baby has developed all the parts necessary to feel pain. Furthermore, research tells us that at 20 weeks the wee one already senses pain.
At 14 weeks, we know that the baby’s heart is pumping several quarts of blood, and this amount increases as the baby grows. The little one is a living, growing human being, as shown by the heart that is pumping blood as well as the physical growth of the child.
Fifteen weeks after conception, a baby develops taste buds. Something so delicate and small, something unseen by the human eye has already been formed at this stage of development!
By week 17, the baby can dream. It experiences REM sleep, which is what allows us to dream.
Seriously, I could go on and on, but I am going to stop here because I think you get the point.
I am Pro-Life because it is the only thing that makes logical sense. From the day a child is created in the mother’s womb by fertilization, it has 46 chromosomes, which makes it a life, a baby. I think sometimes when we think about difficult situations, we tend to minimize and justify them to fit into something we can approve of, but please do not minimize the facts-the fact that a heartbeat is proven to be heard at 22 days after a child is conceived.
My hope in writing this is that you do not feel judged if this is your situation or something you have experienced. The goal is to bring awareness to the facts of conception and to the child that is on the other side of this coin. My hope in writing this is that we remember the facts of conception when considering a child’s life.
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