Atlantic Article Argues Pro-Lifers Use Ultrasounds for Political Purposes

Veronica Neffinger | iBelieve Contributor | Updated: Jan 26, 2017

Atlantic Article Argues Pro-Lifers Use Ultrasounds for Political Purposes

A recent article by Moira Weigel, a contributor to The Atlantic, claims that pro-lifers have used ultrasound technology to exploit their cause.

In the article, Weigel mentions the recent heartbeat bills that states such as Ohio and Kentucky have adopted, which mandate that abortions cannot be performed once a baby’s heartbeat is detected.

Weigel goes on to say, however, that a baby’s heartbeat can be detected via ultrasound as early as six weeks, although it appears merely as “a flickering that takes place between 120 and 160 times per minute on a black-and-white playback screen.”

Weigel says a baby’s heartbeat is more subjective than what pro-lifers who promote ultrasound technology may want people to think. “What is a fetal heartbeat? And why does it matter?” she asks.

To drive her point home, Weigel notes, “Scientists can observe the same effect if they culture cells in a petri dish.” She even goes so far as to say that pro-life advocates and politicians have used fetal ultrasound technology as a part of “stealth warfare,” alleging that ultrasounds were actually not created to scan small spaces, but rather vast ones.

Weigel continues with her skepticism, claiming that ultrasounds give doctors more authority than a woman herself during a pregnancy. She also cites the case of a former abortionist who became a born-again Christian and made an allegedly fabricated documentary of the abortion process, shown through ultrasound.

Although highly skeptical of the motivations of pro-life advocates, Weigel asks some probing questions, to which pro-lifers will hopefully have a chance to respond.

 

Photo couretsy: Wikimedia Commons

Publication date: January 26, 2017



Atlantic Article Argues Pro-Lifers Use Ultrasounds for Political Purposes