How can the fetus be a part of the mother's body when it has it's own heartbeat, brainwaves, fingerprints, DNA

Question

... blood type, etc.?

All of these things are present at week 5, DNA and blood type are earlier.

Sorry, brainwaves are week 6:
http://207.210.78.162/wp/education/fetal-development/

Considering most women do not know they are pregnant until at least week 4, usually week 8.... that's pretty disturbing to me.

5% of abortions are due to rape, incest, fetal abnormalities and the health of the mother. 95% of abortions are abortions of convenience.

Over 1 million abortions are performed per year in the USA alone.
http://www.abortiontv.com/Misc/AbortionStatistics.htm

Nobody important - when the baby is born the mother is still "enslaved" to provide for the child. If she does not feed and care for the child after it leaves the womb, she can be arrested for neglect. Why is pre-birth any different??

Answer 1

It's technically a parasite. I know that sounds insensitive, but it's a fact.

I know I'll be getting a lot of thumbs down for comparing a human baby to a leech, but hey...sorry people.

Answer 2

A baby is *born* . How soon it can exist (be born) outside the mother's womb is not an exact science . At some point in history it will be able to exist even without any need for a womans womb . Artificial wombs will be able to incubate the fetus to term . Will we force virtually all fetuses to be brought to term only to face adoptions or orphanages ? And who will pay for this ? Will the term baby be applied only to fetuses that are able to survive outside an artificial womb ?
Someday a clone of a human will be a viable life based on the DNA ( but with modifications ) . Will this beginning of a new person be considered a protected entity as some people try to protect a fetus ? And at what point in it's developement will it receive this protection .
It is complicated . Way too complicated to come under the "Thou Shalt not Murder" Commandment .
It seems the First answer lies in Birth Control . Plan B Pills can be used sucesfully after sexual relations , and there are several reliable methods ( with more coming) for use prior to sex .
Nobody Important ,
Interesting observation . What if in a particular case the 7 mo old fetus could not be born alive but could continue to survive indefinitely in the womb , but at the cost of the woman's overall health and quality of life ? What would be different in a 12 month old fetus and a 3 month old child ? ( It seems to be the Life Support Sytem of the Umbilical Cord , and consious actions such as crying vs relflective actions such as "kicking" .) What would the pro-lifers think ?
So one would think that a fetus is considered to be a function of the woman's body ( therefore not a "baby" or person )until the fetus is of an age that it can survive without a connection to the mother via the umbilical cord . Of course this brings us back to the dillema caused by an artificial womb . Then we face the question can we force a mother to allow the fetus to be removed in such a way that it can be incubated into a baby . Should we be able to do this with a 8 month old fetus ? An 8 day old fetus ?
Birth Control , Birth Control , Birth Control !
Or as a legal answer that society needs to provide , perhaps in such cases where birth control fails , It could be suggested that abotions be allowed on demand ( because the fetus will be certainly considered a non formed entity ) within the first 120 days , unless a doctor concludes that the life of the mother is in significant jeopardy .

Answer 3

I lifted this from a website on prenatal development. Note that it actually contradicts your assertion that a five week old embryo has fingerprints. Not that that matters, as the first time a fetus has a fleeting chance of survival is near the end of the second trimester. If there is a God, I think it was really cool of it to give women so much time to think about whether they can accommodate a baby or not.

"Week 23: The lungs begin to produce surfactant, which allows air sacs (alveoli) in the lungs to inflate and keeps the sacs from sticking together when they deflate. The skin becomes less transparent and the fetus starts to add fat at an increased rate. By the 23rd week, the fetus is potentially capable of surviving outside the womb. However, there are substantial health threats for babies born at this point, including bleeding in the brain, vision impairment and lung damage.


Week 24: Footprints and fingerprints begin to form, and the fetus develops a sense of balance as the inner ear becomes fully developed."

Answer 4

I will give you a homework assignment. When exactly does the brain form in a fetus?

I will accept a week range or even a trimester.


Edit: You can have a heartbeat without a brain so that does not indicate being alive. If your final answer is going to be 5 weeks on the brain formation then you would get a C-. The brain starts to form at week 5 but is not functional until the fetal period in week 10-13.

Answer 5

You are dead wrong about brain waves being present at six weeks. In order for EEG, or brain waves, to be present, a cerebral cortex must be formed, which does not happen until the second trimester of pregnancy.

Here's proof of my claim:

"Functional maturity of the cerebral cortex is suggested by fetal and neonatal electroencephalographic patterns, studies of cerebral metabolism, and the behavioral development of neonates. First, intermittent electroencephalograpic bursts in both cerebral hemispheres are first seen at 20 weeks gestation; they become sustained at 22 weeks and bilaterally synchronous at 26 to 27 weeks.39 By 30 weeks, the distinction between wakefulness and sleep can be made on the basis of electroencephalo- graphic patterns.39,40" (see source below).

In answer to your question, the embryo or fetus is not part of the woman's body, but that does not mean it is a human being/person or has a right to exist at the woman's expense.

Answer 6

Because it sucks the nutrients/energy from the mother's body, and cannot fend for itself. Would you rather a woman be enslaved to the fetus' needs? How would that be any different than being enslaved to an already born human?

Answer 7

By the time it has a functional heart and a working brain several months have passed (not 5 weeks) and abortion is very rarely performed - only in emergencies for the woman's health.

Answer 8

Because the baby depends on the mother to provide for it.

Answer 9

and yet doesn't breath or feed its own self. This is taken care of, by being joined to it's mother.

Answer 10

If you take it out of the mother's body, it won't survive independently, just like if you chop of your finger it won't function.

Your teeth are made of a different substance from your skin, but they're still a part of you.

Answer 11

lets try something simple like if the mother dies the fetus will not live.