The Precious Gift Of Life- Lecture

The Precious Gift of Life The Sanctity of Life from the Medical and Biblical Viewpoints

Did you know that you are SPECIAL?

You started as a dream in God’s mind

Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Jeremiah 1:5

Psalm 139:13-16 For you created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.

God thought of you first before He created you! He thought of the color of your skin the shape of your nose the color of your eyes the color of your hair And everything else about you!

The Sanctity of Life= Sacredness of Life

Life is Sacred because God made us because medical science shows when a new life begins - Embryology because advances in technology enable us to see or witness fetal development like never before – 3-D and 4-D Ultrasound, Intra-uterine Photography, fetal monitors, fetal doppler

When did you come into being? AT CONCEPTION Which is also called FERTILIZATION

Prior to fertilization: You have haploid cells (the sperm and the egg) Haploid=containing half (23) of the number of chromosomes in other cells of the body (46) only for reproductive cells (gametes)

At fertilization: Haploid gametes combine together to form a diploid zygote, a genetically different individual from the mother and father The zygote now has 46 chromosomes All the cells in his or her body will have 46 chromosomes except his or her gametes (spermatozoa or ova)

What Medical Textbooks Say “Each human being starts his life, his very being, as an ordinary cell called the zygote, measuring less than 0.2 mm in diameter.” Essentials of Human Embryology, S.M. Bhatnagar et. al., 1983, Orient Longman, India

What Medical Textbooks Say “The male and female sex cells or gametes…unite at fertilization to initiate the embryonic development of a new individual.” “Fertilization takes place in the oviduct (fallopian tubes)... resulting in the formation of a zygote containing a single diploid nucleus.” “Embryonic development is considered to begin at this point.” “This moment of zygote formation may be taken as the beginning or zero time point of embryonic development." Essentials of Human Embryology (pp. 1-17) Larsen, W.J. 1998. Churchill Livingstone, New York.

What Medical Textbooks Say "Zygote: this cell results from the union of an oocyte(egg) and a sperm. A zygote is the beginning of a new human being (i.e., an embryo). Human development begins at fertilization, the process during which a male gamete or sperm ... unites with a female gamete or oocyte ... to form a single cell called a zygote. This highly specialized, totipotent cell marks the beginning of each of us as a unique individual. The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology by Moore, K. and T.V.N. Persaud. 1998. (6th ed.), W.B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia. (pp 2-18)

Development of the Baby There are different terms for the new baby. But these are just terms describing the stage of development : zygote, morula, blastocyst, embryo, fetus But it is the very same baby. And when the baby is born he or she is called a neonate, infant, toddler, etc. He or she is still the very same baby!

What Medical Textbooks Say How does the cell (zygote) develop? “Through a chronicle of development, characterized by the gradual and sequential development of a wide variety of structures, nowhere present to start with, by cellular processes of multiplication, migration, differentiation, and assembly of diverse cell types, leading to the formation of organs and systems.” Essentials of Human Embryology, S.M. Bhatnagar et. al., 1983, Orient Longman, India

Your existence started at the point of conception Fetal Development is part of the continuous timeline of your growth as a human being

What the Medical Professionals Say The critical event that assigns humanness is conception. All subsequent changes are those of increased size and complexity, not an alteration of the essential nature of the fetus. Dr. D. Brady-West, DM Medical Practitioner, Jamaica

What Medical Textbooks Say Embryology is the study of the prenatal period of creation of an individual starting from conception to the birth of a child. Growth in the prenatal and postnatal periods is a continuous process. The event of birth marks the difference between the two periods and entails sudden and drastic changes in respiration and circulation. Obstetrics is essentially applied embryology. The problems of normal and abnormal labor, antenatal and postnatal care can be readily tackled with an understanding of embryology. Essentials of Human Embryology, S.M. Bhatnagar et. al., 1983, Orient Longman, India

Intrauterine Photographs

4-week old baby in the womb

Intrauterine Photographs

6-week old baby in the womb

Intrauterine Photographs

8-week old baby in the womb

Intrauterine Photographs

16-week old baby in the womb

Intrauterine Photographs

20-week old baby in the womb

Intrauterine Photographs

22-week old baby in the womb

Intrauterine Photographs

24-week old baby in the womb

Ordinary Ultrasound

3-D Ultrasound

4-D Ultrasound

Embryologic Development: when God knit us together in our mother’s womb Psalm 139:13, 15-16 For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb… My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.

You were woven together by God Developmental Neuroscience shows that neurons actually interweave together during the embryologic development of the nervous system

Eight Phases in Embryonic and Fetal Development of the Nervous System at a Cellular Level , all of which occur simultaneously 1. Mitosis 2. Migration 3. Aggregation and 4. Differentiation

5. Synaptogenesis 6. Death

7. Rearrangement 8. Myelination

Growth cones crawl forward as they are controlled by cues in their outside environment that direct them toward their appropriate targets. Growth cone

Migration Growth Cones

Filopodia -find an adhesive surface & pull the growth cone forward

Migration Growth Cones

Scanning electron micrograph of a growth cone in culture. On a flat surface growth cones are very thin. They have numerous filopodia

Aggregation

Similar neurons move together and form layers

Synaptogenesis Axons (with growth cones on end) form a synapse (junction) with other neurons or tissue (e.g. muscle)= they have been knitted together

God created life, science only describes what God has done God created you, embryology only describes how we develop from the moment of conception We are created in God’s image Genesis 1:27 So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Embryology undeniably shows that life begins at conception The sanctity or sacredness of life means that we must honor life (consider it sacred) And we must honor life when it starts: at conception

Why Is Abortion Wrong?

Why is Abortion Wrong? Because it is a sin against God Because it is murder in God’s eyes – Killing another human life shows contempt for God, who created that life – The 6th Commandment: “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13) – Abortion takes away another human life that is made in the image of God – Abortion is the ultimate power grab- to choose between life and death.

Why Is Abortion Wrong? Because it is the shedding of innocent blood and God hates the shedding of innocent blood – Prov 6:16-19 There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood…

Why is Abortion Wrong? Because it is ethically wrong Ethics- a set of moral principles adopted by a profession or a society; defines right or wrong It is immoral to kill, that’s why it’s a crime to murder or kill another human being after he is born, from birth to natural death. In the same way, it is immoral to kill another human being before he or she is born, when he or she is still in the womb. It is immoral to choose who may live and who may not. Ex. Holocaust- Nazis chose death for the Jews

What the Medical Professionals Say If the fetus is a human being, then the killing of the fetus (abortion) is homicide. Dr. D. Brady-West, DM Medical Practitioner, Jamaica

Why is abortion wrong? Because our Constitution upholds life In the Philippines, the State protects the life of its citizens from conception – The State shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception. (Article II, Sec. 12 of the 1987 Constitution)

Why is abortion wrong? Because in the Philippines, abortion is a crime The Revised Penal Code punishes abortion as a crime with fines and imprisonment both for the woman and the health professional who committed the crime of abortion – Revised Penal Code, Book Two,Title EightCRIMES AGAINST PERSONS, Chapter OneDESTRUCTION OF LIFE, Section Two- Infanticide and abortion. Article 255-259

Why is abortion wrong? Because abortion kills babies and hurts women Post-abortion syndrome= post-traumatic stress disorder: guilt, major depression, anger, nightmares, hallucinations Chemical and surgical abortion cause many complications in women: uterine perforation, bleeding, infertility, susceptibility to breast cancer. There is no such thing as a “safe abortion” because abortion is 100% fatal to babies. Abortion tears apart bodies of children.

Abortion promises power … brings powerlessness. Abortion promises freedom … brings lifelong bondage. Abortion promises a better role for women … brings destruction. Abortion promises to save relationships … destroys them instead. Abortion promises "reproductive health" … brings infertility and death. From a speech by Dr. Janice Crouse At the January Life Breakfast, Jan.22, 2008 Illinois, USA

How do we uphold the sanctity of life? As human beings created by God We must oppose abortion, because we are all former fetuses.

How do we uphold the sanctity of life? As Christians who love and follow Christ PRAY – – –

for women and their babies abortion will stop that God would expose those who commit the crime of abortion

Speak up for the defenseless (Proverbs 31:8) Rescue the dying who are being dragged to their deaths (Proverbs 24:11)

How do we uphold the sanctity of life? As health professionals We must not view pregnancy as a disease or epidemic. We must always consider the fetus as a patient. We must never consider abortion as a part of health care. Abortion takes away a human life and therefore can never be an act of caring. It must not be part of health care. We must never recommend the use of abortifacient drugs (drugs that cause abortion). We must never recommend an abortion.

How do we uphold the sanctity of life? As a Filipino: Actively support pro-life laws Speak up against abortion in our country Actively resist the legalization of abortion or the decriminalization of abortion Actively resist charter change that will seek to strike out protection of the unborn from conception Prevent the development of collective blindness of our society to the humanity of the unborn and to the evil of abortion .This blindness is pervasive in most Western societies.

How do we uphold the sanctity of life? As a young person Teach your generation about the sanctity of human life Rescue the unborn generation Teach the next generation about the sanctity of human life

Thank You! VISIT OUR WEBSITES proliferesources.com filipinoyouth4life.com