Fetal Development

Life begins at fertilization. This is an uncontested and objective fact based on the universally accepted scientific method of distinguishing different cell types.

A baby’s heart starts beating 22 days after conception. It will beat 54 million times between conception and birth.

By 10 weeks’ gestation, a baby has developed from a single cell into nearly one billion cells that make up 4,000 distinct anatomic structures, meaning that the baby already has 90% of the named structures in the adult human body.

By 12 weeks’ gestation, a baby is forming unique fingerprints and sucks his thumb with a preference for his left or right hand.

The age of viability has been decreasing every decade. In fact, the youngest premature baby to survive was born at 21 weeks’ and 1 day gestation.

Each year, over 60,000 abortions are performed after 15 weeks’ gestation.

Scientific advancements provide clear evidence that unborn babies feel pain by 15 weeks’ gestation and possibly as early as 12 weeks’ gestation.