This document outlines the development of an unborn fetus from conception to birth in 3 week increments. It describes how all major organs and body systems are established by week 8. Different viewpoints and abortion methods are discussed. The conservative view is that abortion is never permissible, while the liberal view is that it should always be a woman's choice. Moderate views support abortion only up to a certain stage of development or for limited reasons. Common abortion methods include drugs, dilation and curettage, and hysterotomy. Biblical and philosophical arguments are presented by both pro-life and pro-choice positions regarding when life begins and personhood.

1. A Look at the Life of the
Unborn and the Methods Used
to Take that Life
JOFRED M. MARTINEZ, RN

2. 1. Outline the distinction between “human” and
“person”, and to dispute regarding personhood
criteria.
2. List the basic facts of fetal development.
3. Explain the different types of abortion.
4. Describe the sociology of abortion issue.
5. Outline the religious arguments against abortion.
6. Explain the pro-choice position from a “life plan”
point of view.

4. In the beginning sperm
joins with ovum (egg) to
form one cell - smaller
than a grain of salt.
This union brings together the 23 chromosomes from
the father with the 23 chromosomes from the mother
to make a single new life with 46 chromosomes - the
genetic blue print for the development of every detail
this new person will ever have.

5. For the next few days the
fertilized egg travels down
the fallopian tube into the
uterus.
At the end of the first week
it implants itself into the
lining of the uterine wall and
draws nourishment from its
mother.

6. From Days 10-14 the
developing embryo
signals its presence
through placenta
chemicals and
hormones to the
mother’s body telling it
to cease menstruation.

7. By Day 21 the heart begins to beat.
By the 4th week, the backbone and muscles are
forming. Arms, legs, eyes, and ears begins to show.
By only Day 20
foundations of the
brain, spinal cord and
nervous system are
already established.

8. Now one month old, the
embryo is 10,000 times
larger than the original
fertilized egg and is
developing rapidly.

9. At Week 5 five fingers can
be discerned in the hand.
The eyes darken as
pigment is produced.
Brain waves can be
detected and recorded.
At Week 6 the liver is now taking over production of
blood cells, the brain begins to control muscle
movements and organs.

10. Week 7 - The embryo
begins to move
spontaneously. The jaw
forms, including teeth
buds in the gums.
Soon the eyelids will seal
to protect the embryo’s
developing light-sensitive
eyes, and will reopen at
about the seventh month.

11. By the 8th Week
the now-called
fetus is a little
more than an inch
long. The fetus has
now everything
found in a fully
developed adult.
The heart has been beating for more than a month, the
kidneys are functioning; the stomach is producing
digestive juices. And it responds to touch.

12. At Week 9 the tiny one
has fingerprints and
will curve its hand
around an object
placed in its palm.
By Week 10 the fetus
can squint, swallow,
and wrinkle its
forehead.
At the 11th week, the fetus is now about 2 inches long.
Urination occurs. Muscle movements are becoming
more coordinated.

13. Now 3 months old, the unborn sleeps, awakens, and
exercises its muscles. It “breathes” amniotic fluid to
help develop its respiratory system. Fine hair is
growing on the head.

14. At 4 months the fetus is
8-10 inches long and
weighs half a pound.
The mother starts to
“show.” The baby’s ears
are functional.
It can hear its mother.

15. The fetus at 5 months is now about 12 inches long.
There is definite movement felt by the mother. The
unborn may jump in reactions to startling or loud noises.

16. At the 6th month oil
and sweat glands
are now functioning.
The delicate skin is
protected from the
fetal waters by a
special ointment
called “vernix.”
Born now and given proper care,
the baby would survive…

17. At Month 7 the baby now uses the four senses of
hearing, vision, taste, and touch. The child can
respond to his or her mother’s voice.

18. In the 8th month the
skin begins to thicken
with a layer of fat
stored underneath for
insulation and
nourishment.
Antibodies
increasingly build up.
The baby is nearly ready for life outside the womb.

19. Toward the end of this
month the baby is
ready for birth. By this
time the infant
normally weighs 6 to
9 pounds, and his or
her heart is pumping
300 gallons of blood
per day.

20. When does life Begin
Is the embryo or fetus merely a
“globule of tissue”

21. What exactly is murder
Is abortion murder

22. Does knowing the facts about preborn
life and the methods of abortion
make us more responsible

23. What is abortion
Abortion is the expulsion of a living fetus from the
mother’s womb before it is viable.

25. Reasons for abortion
Economic Cost
Family Planning
Health
Rape incest
Age
Society’s moralism

26. Abortion
150,000 to 750,000 abortion every year
4,000 case of abortion annually in Manila

27. PHILIPPINES
ARTICLE II, SECTION 12 OF THE 1986
PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION
“The state recognizes the sanctity of life and shall
protect and strengthen the family as a basic
autonomous social institution. It shall equally protect
the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from
conception.”
Historical Background

28. Revised Penal Code of the Philippines (enacted in
1930 and remains in effect today)
Articles 256, 258 and 259 of the Code mandate
imprisonment for the woman who undergoes the
abortion, as well as for any person who assists in the
procedure, even if they be the woman's parents, a
physician or midwife.
Historical Background

29. NATURAL ABORTION/SPONTANEOUS OR
ACCIDENTAL ABORTION
The expulsion of the fetus through natural or
accidental causes.
Types of Abortion

30. DIRECT OR INTENTIONAL ABORTION
Deliberately induced expulsion of a living fetus
before it has become viable.
Types of Abortion

31. THERAPEUTIC ABORTION
Deliberately induced expulsion of a living fetus in
order to save the mother from the danger of
death brought on by pregnancy.
Types of Abortion

32. EUGENIC ABORTION/SELECTIVE ABORTION OR
ABORTION ON FETAL INDICATIONS
- This is recommended in cases where certain
defects are discovered in the developing fetus.
Types of Abortion

33. INDIRECT ABORTION
The removal of the fetus occurs as a secondary
effect of a legitimate or licit action, which is
direct and primary object of the intention.
Types of Abortion

34. The conservative
The liberal
The moderate or intermediate
Viewpoints on Abortion

35. It declares that abortion is never permissible, or at
most, is permissible if and only it is required to save the
pregnant woman’s life, as in the case of the removal of
a cancerous uterus or the removal of the fallopian tube,
or a part of it, because of ectopic pregnancy.
Conservative Viewpoint

36. States that abortion is always permissible, whatever
the state of fetal development may be. If women are
truly to be liberated, this view contends, they must
ultimately have full freedom to control their own
reproductive capacities.
Liberal Viewpoint

38. “The fetus has no ontological status; it is neither an
individual, human, nor a person, but only a tissue in
a woman’s uterus; therefore, it possesses no rights
and no moral status.”
Liberals

39. It holds that abortion is morally permissible up to
certain stage of fetal development, or for some limited
set of reasons sufficient to justify the taking of life in
this or that special circumstances. As far as the
moderates are concerned, the fetus attains ontological
status at quickening or viability.
Moderate Viewpoint

40. PLANTS AND PLANT PREPARATIONS
e.g.,Makabuhay, Essencia maravilosa.
Methods of Abortion

41. “If you prick us do we not bleed,
if you tickle us do we not laugh, if
you poison us do we not die…”
- Shakespeare the Merchant of Venice

42. PHYSICAL METHODS
Massage and abdominal pressure are applied by the
hilot, or sometimes by the pregnant woman herself.
Methods of Abortion

44. INSERTION OF CATHETERS
Women have been known to insert hangers,
brooms, walis tingting.
Methods of Abortion

45. DILATION AND CURETTAGE
Usually, this is done with women who had already
began the abortion, in which case it is called
completion curettage.
Methods of Abortion

47. MENSTRUAL REGULATION (MR)
This involves the use of suction or vacuum aspiration to
terminate a very early pregnancy.
Methods of Abortion

48. MENSTRUAL REGULATION (MR)
This involves the use of suction or vacuum aspiration to
terminate a very early pregnancy.
Methods of Abortion

49. DRUGS
These include medicines such as quinine, an anti-
malarial; methylergometrin, a uterine stimulant and
methotrexate, an anti-cancer drug.
Bricanyl (terbutaline) is perceived as an
abortifacient in large doses
Methods of Abortion

50. DRUGS
Misoprostol (Cytotec) is actually a drug used to
prevent ulcers but has abortion as a side effect.
Another drug called RU486 (Mifepristone) is now legal
in China and a few European countries.
Methods of Abortion

51. SALT POISONING
A needle is inserted through the mother’s abdomen
and 50-250 ml of amniotic fluid is withdrawn and
replaced with a solution of concentrated salt.
Methods of Abortion

53. HYSTEROTOMY
Incisions are made in the abdomen and uterus. The
baby, placenta, and amniotic sac are removed.
Methods of Abortion

55. THE TWO POSITIONS
The pro-life position
The pro-choice position
Moral Issues

56. SANCTITY OF LIFE ARGUMENT
Moral Issues

57. THE DOCTRINE OF DOUBLE EFFECT
The course chosen must be good or at
least morally neutral
The good must not follow as a consequence
of the secondary harmful effects
The harm must never be intended but merely tolerated
as casually connected with the good intended
The good must outweigh the harm
Moral Issues

58. “HUMAN” OR “PERSON”
Consciousness of objects and events
The ability to feel pain
Reasoning
Self-motivated activity
The capacity to communicate
A concept of the self
Moral Issues

59. THE VIABILITY ARGUMENT
Moral Issues

60. THE VIOLINIST ANALOGY
Moral Issues

61. THE RAPIDLY GROWING CHILD ANALOGY
Moral Issues

62. THE CARPET –SEED CHILDREN ANALOGY
Moral Issues

63. TRADITIONALISM VS. MODERNISM
Moral Issues

64. ABORTION AND FREEDOM OF RELIGION
Moral Issues

65. THE ENVIRONMENT PERSPECTIVE
Moral Issues

66. The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the
ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,
and the man became a living being
(Genesis 2:7).
Biblical Viewpoint

67. The word of the LORD came to me, saying,
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew
you, before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations"
(Jeremiah 1:4-5).
Biblical Viewpoint

68. You shall not murder.
(Exodus 20:13)
Biblical Viewpoint

69. 1. Edge, R. S. and Groves, J. R. (1999) Ethics of
Health Care: A Guide for Clinical Practice (Second
Edition). Albert Complex, Singapore: Delmar
Publishers. pp. 180 – 201
2. Timbreza, F. T. (2007) Bioethics and Moral
Decisions. Quezon Avenue: C & E Publishing Inc.
pp. 87 - 106
References