The baby now measures about 4.3 to 4.6 inches and weighs about 3.5 ounces. You should be able to feel the top of your uterus about 3 inches below your belly button. The baby's eyes can blink and the heart and blood vessels are fully formed. The baby's fingers and toes have fingerprints. Its nervous system is well established and it sucks its thumb. It feels the same pain you would feel, if pulled apart, as an adult.
Update: If we must abort, shouldn't that happen before the nervous system is functionable?
Editor's notes: The following is an excerpt from an article at the Left leaning The Daily Beast. It's title is, "I don't know if I am pro-choice anymore." Just a few years ago, this article would have never appeared in any publication supporting pro-choice. But times are changing. Understand that, sadly, abortion is the law, and it is settled law, contrary to Rick Santorum's thinking . . . . at least as things stand, today. What is not "settled," however, is the fight against abortion and the decision to fight abortion, incrementally. I am fiercely anti-abortion, but, I am equally opposed to the take-no-prisoners approach in my opposition. You defeat abortion, ultimately, via strikes at the Nazi-style practices of abortion mills such as Planned Parenthood, at late-term abortions (80% of Americans oppose late-term abortions), and abortions of the unborn after its nervous system is operational, and the unborn can experience the pain of being torn into pieces during the abortion process. Folks will rebel against this sort of thing . . . . and they have. Setting standards for medical procedures and establishing healthcare standards for abortion clinics, is another avenue available to the pro-life opposition. We can win these battles . . . . . and are doing so, even as I write. I know it sounds crass, but if we can cut abortions from 1.4 million per year to 300,000, well, that would be a remarkable achievement. At any rate, the full article is worth the read.
As I’ve only realized lately, to be a man, and to declare yourself pro-choice, is to proclaim your neutrality. And, as I’ve only recently been willing to admit, even to myself, that’s another name for “wimping out.”
At least that’s how my wife sees it. She’s pro-life, and so she’s been tearing into me every time a new video is released. She’s not buying my argument that, as a man, I have to defer to women and trust them to make their own choices about what to do with their bodies. To her, that’s ridiculous—and cowardly.
“You can’t stand on the sidelines, especially now that you've seen these videos,” she told me recently. “That’s bullshit! These are babies that are being killed. Millions of them. And you need to use your voice to protect them. That’s what a man does. He protects children—his own children, and other children. That’s what it means to be a man.”
I didn’t like the scolding, but I needed to hear it. For those of us who are pro-choice, the Planned Parenthood videos are a game changer. As to whether that means I’ll change my view, I’m not sure. I’m on the bubble. Ask me in a few weeks, after the release of more videos.
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