Politics
Wednesday September 17, 2003
4-D Ultrasound Shows Babies Smile and Cry in Womb
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LONDON, September 17, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Obstetrician, professor Stuart Campbell at the Create Health Centre for Reproduction and Advanced Technology, has developed ultrasound technology to show astounding details of the child in the womb. The pictures available show the unborn child moving, crying, blinking and even smiling, and open up whole new areas of possibility for doctors and expectant parents.
It was thought that children do not start smiling until several weeks after birth. "But," says Dr. Campbell, "before birth, most babies smile frequently. This may indicate the baby's trouble-free existence in the womb and the relatively traumatic first few weeks after birth when the baby is reacting to a strange environment."
The technology has pro-life activists both elated and concerned. Professor Campbell said that the images will help scientists study the behaviour of the child in the womb and will assist in early diagnosis of all kinds of pre-natal problems. "One woman I scanned, whose baby had a cleft palate, wanted to take the pictures to a surgeon to discuss the surgery after birth," he said.
However, some are worried that the imaging technology will be used to identify genetic "defects" in utero and will lead to more eugenic abortions.
"It's astounding! It is perfectly clear that the child in the womb is a fully human, fully living, individual person. You can see clearly enough to see which parent your child looks most like. There is no way anyone can talk about 'blobs of tissue' now." Says Mary Ellen Douglas of Campaign Life Coalition Ontario, "But we can see this new ability being used for more effective search and destroy missions for disabled children. I hope not."
See local coverage:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,11381,1041287,00.html
http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-12773312,00.html
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