Richard Ho Lung ALTHOUGH ABORTION supporters insist that it is questionable that the child in the womb is human, medical textbooks, such as Before we are Born, on the other hand, agree that the life of every human being begins at conception. Human life is a continuous process that begins at fertilisation, when the sperm from the male unites with the ovum from the female to form a single-cell organism called a zygote meaning, 'yoked together'.
In his medical textbook on embryology, the science of the origin and development of the human being before birth, Keith L. Moore, professor of anatomy at the University of Toronto, explained that "development can be divided into prenatal and postnatal periods, but it is important to understand the human development is a continuous process that begins at fertilisation."
Not only does the life of every human being begin at fertilisation, the unborn child takes an active role in determining his own environment and his own destiny. The unborn child develops, as it were, his own space capsule and his own lifeline (the placenta). These all belong to him, not to his mother. Although continually receiving nourishment from his mother, at no stage is the unborn child a mere appendage of the mother. Genetically, mother and baby are separate individuals from the time of fertilisation.
Williams Obstetrics teaches that "Heretofore, the foetus commonly was envisioned as a passive passenger of the pregnancy unit; it is now known that this is not the case. It must be recognised that the foetus is the dynamic force in the orchestration of his own destiny."
FOETAL CONTRIBUTIONS
For example, it is the unborn who signals the mother that she is carrying a child; foetal contributions orchestrate the maintenance of pregnancy; and the endocrine changes in pregnancy come about because of products formed and secreted by the placenta.
An anthropolgist Ashley Montagu once wrote that "Birth is not a beginning... the true beginning is at conception. Nor is birth an ending. It is more nearly a bridge between two stages of life, and although the bridge is not a long one, a child crosses it slowly, so that his body may be ready when he steps off at the far end."
Fertilisation is the beginning of each individual human life when the sperm and ovum (egg) unite. In this new genetically-unique single cell the 'zygote' "the full genetic information necessary and sufficient to express all the inborn qualities of the new individual is gathered," explained a world-renowned geneticist Dr. Jerome Lejeune.
Shortly after the sperm penetrates the ovum, there is a merging of genetic information 23 pairs of chromosomes (one member of each pair from personal constitution," said Dr. Lejeune. The new being begins to express himself or herself as soon as he has been conceived."
All our individual trademarks - our sex; colour of hair, eyes, and skin, facial features; body type; and certain aspects of intelligence and personality are a reflection of this genetic coding. Everyone of us receives a unique genetic package, one which has never existed before and will never be replicated. Identical twins are the only exception to the rule of one man, one genetic makeup.
CHILDREN ADOPTED
As a community that honours life, Missionaries of the Poor will undertake the child of any woman and man who is unwanted. We have already begun the process. And, a number of our children have been adopted by locals and overseas friends. Please do not kill your baby in the womb!
We will take care of that child. If you later wish to take your child from us, we would gladly give him/her back. We believe that abortion is murder of the unborn. It is precious life, therefore save your child and give it to us.
Father Ho Lung is Founder and leader of the Missionaries of the Poor.
