Pro-lifers have been fighting for nearly fifty years, and now a key victory may be in sight, with the expected overturning of Roe v. Wade. On the other side, abortion supporters claim the science hasn’t changed since 1973. But state-of-the-art ultrasound technology is proving they’re dead wrong.
While discussing the leaked Supreme Court opinion that signaled a potential end of Roe v. Wade, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) made comments regarding abortion that many say highlight just how out of touch her party really is when it comes to the issue of preborn life and the science that supports it.
“The science hasn’t changed but the court changed,” Pelosi said during an appearance on CBS’ Face the Nation.
Dr. Tara Sander Lee, Director of Life Sciences at Charlotte Lozier Institute, disagrees with Pelosi, adding that the speaker seems unaware of technological advancements in the 49 years since the Roe ruling.
“For three years she’s been telling America to follow the science but at this moment, she’s choosing to ignore the science because it’s inconvenient to her extreme political agenda to force legalized abortion onto this country up until the moment of birth for any reason at all,” Sander Lee told CBN News.
Since the 1973 ruling legalizing abortion, ultrasound technology has boomed, providing a window into the womb for millions who now post images of their unborn babies on their refrigerators.
Ninety-three percent of women who have ultrasounds choose to keep their babies.
“In 2022, not only do we have ultrasounds but we have 3D ultrasounds,” explained Christina Bennett, a correspondent with the pro-life group Live Action. “We have ultrasounds where you can really get this beautiful clear image of a baby growing in the womb.
Bennett went on to explain how the internet has also provided a unique view of the unborn.
“Live Action has a video called ‘Baby Olivia,’ which goes through the whole development of a baby. You can just go on YouTube and watch that video,” said Bennett. “Technology, through the internet and through of course medical science, even just us understanding that babies can feel pain after 20 weeks – even those things we were not aware of.”
Dr. Grazie Christie, a diagnostic radiologist and policy adviser for the Catholic Association, submitted a brief in the key Supreme Court case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, in which she described the science used in Roe as outdated.
“We’ve developed a different appreciation of the humanity of the fetus that we didn’t have back then through ultrasound, and my brief had a lot to do with that,” Christie said in an interview with CBN News. “We included pictures of unborn babies for the justices. and we were really proud of that because they’re so compelling.”
At the heart of the landmark abortion ruling was the question of when life in the womb begins – an issue that Christie and others say is clearly proven by newer science.
“In 1973, viability was probably thirty-something weeks,” said Christie. “Now we’re down to 22 or 23 weeks. What an amazing difference.”
Advancements in prenatal imaging and surgical technology, combined with discoveries in anesthesia for relieving pain, have also been pivotal in ushering in the modern era of fetal surgery.
“Imagine this, a surgeon opens a woman’s belly, cuts through the wall of her uterus, pulls out her baby – with the baby’s heart beating, the baby’s moving. They anesthetize the baby, operate on the child – then the mom waits to give birth to hopefully a much healthier baby,” Christie explained.
Pro-lifers say this is all evidence that abortion advocates can no longer deny.
“This is the truth,” said Dr. Sander Lee. “This is what science reveals, and so to say otherwise is to simply ignore the science that’s around us today.”
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