The life of a baby begins long before he or she is born. A new individual human being begins growing in the mother's uterus at fertilization and, if the baby's life is not interrupted, he or she will someday become an adult man or woman. Worldwide, over 46 million unborn babies are killed each year. In the United States over 40 million unborn babies have been killed since abortion was legalized in 1973 and more than 1.3 million are killed each year.

As the world-renowned French geneticist Jerome LeJeune asserted, "To accept the fact that after fertilization has taken place a new human has come into being is no longer a matter of taste or opinion. The human nature of the human being from conception to old age is not a matter of metaphysical contention; it is plain experimental evidence."

The scientific evidence is beyond dispute:

• The unborn baby is alive from the moment of fertilization.
• The unborn baby has a heartbeat at three weeks and brain waves at six weeks.
• The unborn baby is complete. He or she is programmed from the inside for an ongoing process of growth and development.
• The unborn baby has 46 chromosomes in the cells of his or her body - the scientifically verifiable human genetic code.
• The unborn baby from the moment of fertilization is a unique human being - never to be repeated in all of history.

Nothing magic occurs at birth which suddenly makes an unborn baby human. The baby is the same baby, whether inside or outside the uterus. Every unborn baby is a complete, individual living human being from the earliest moment of his or her existence at fertilization.Unfortunately, in the United States it is legal to kill that developing child by abortion for all nine months of pregnancy for any reason.

Source: National Right to Life, "When Does Life Begin?" (1993)

QUICK FACTS
Early stages of fetal development:

• 18 days
  Heart begins to beat (Even today the most common way to determine that someone is dead is probably to check for pulse or heatbeat. So if we say you're dead when your heart stops, shouldn't we say you're alive when your heart starts?)
  
  
• 30 days
  The tiny human being has grown 10,000 times it's original size since conception.
  
  
• 40 days
  Brain waves can be measured with an Electronencephalogram (Today we declare someone to be legally dead when his brain waves cease. So if the end of brainwaves marks the legal end of life, perhaps the start of brainwaves should mark the legal start of life?)
  
  
• 8 weeks
  All body systems are functioning.
   
  
  
• 2 months
  Ultrasound has seen babies this age sucking their thumbs
  
  
• 10 weeks
  The baby's body is sensitive to touch. He or she can squint, swallow, wrinkle his brow, and frown.
  
  
• 12 weeks
  The child is capable of hearing and breathes amniotic fluid. She has fingernails and can move about vigorously.
   
  
  
• 4-5 months
  Baby can kick hard enough for his mother to feel it and his fingerprints are completely established.
   
  
  
• 6 months
  He has fine hair and eyebrows, is approximately 9" long and weights about 22 oz.
  
  
• 7 months
  The baby's eyelids open and close, his or her hands that can grip strongly and he or she can hear and recognized mom's voice.
  
  
• 8 months
  Baby grows.
  
  
• 9 months
  The baby triggers labor and birth occurs.
  

Sources: National Right to Life, "When Does Life Begin?" (1993) Dr. & Mrs. J.C. Willke, "Why Can't We Love Them Both" (1997) Heritage House, "Milestones of early life"