Abortion Opponents Hear a ‘Heartbeat.’ Most Experts Hear Something Else.
The Health Section of the New York Times published an article ironically on Valentines Day by Health Reporter, Roni Rabin, entitled," Abortion Opponents Hear a 'Heartbeat.' Experts Hear Something Else." The article stated that during the very early stage of a pregnancy (six weeks), the embryo is the size of a pomegranate seed and has only a primitive tube of cardiac cells that emit electric pulses and pump blood. The fact that a fetal heart at this stage of development does not make the typical "lub dub" sound we hear from a fully mature heart we are somehow deceiving women who seek abortions in states like Texas that have Heartbeat laws, states Rabin. "The consensus among most medical experts is that the electrical activity picked up on an ultrasound at six weeks is not the sound of a heart beating and does not guarantee a live birth. The sound expectant mothers hear during a scan is created by the machine itself, which translates the waves of electrical activity into something audible." Uh huh, since when do we make scientific conclusions by majority rules? Is that fake science? No matter, the fact is that a clump of tubal cardiac cells emitting electrical activity and pumping blood tells me, it's a heart. The article goes on to try to debunk the pamphlets given to women regarding the risks of an abortion. Some "facts" that Rabin gives us is that an abortion is no more risky than having your tonsils out and a study showed that the most common emotional response of women from having an abortion is relief. I kept looking for some conclusion or point to this article but was hard pressed to find one. There will always be an argument about where to draw the line on abortion where abortions are legalized. In my opinion one is as bad as the other. Life begins at conception. If you understand that then you don't have to worry about heartbeats and cognition. Once conceived, a human life has been made in the image and likeness of God and is due all the dignity and respect for its right to life, even if it is only the size of a pomegranate seed.