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'In the Womb' opens eyes, reveals miracle of human life
June 04, 2007
By R. Albert Mohler Jr., President, Southern Seminary

The public discussion about the power of ultrasound and modern imaging technologies has revealed something fascinating — the pro-abortion movement does not want us peering into the womb. The view inside the womb transforms the moral debate over abortion.

This gestating creature is a baby, a child, a person — and a wonder to behold. That wonder is beautifully depicted in a book released recently by the National Geographic Society, "In the Womb." Put simply — the book is one of the most amazing volumes my eyes have ever seen.

The book's author is Peter Tallack, a geneticist and science writer who, along with scientific modeler David Barlow and ultrasound expert Professor Stuart Campbell, brings together absolutely incredible "four-dimensional" images and photographs of the developing baby.

As Tallack explains, "For obstetricians, the development of 3D and 4D scans has been the medical equivalent of the Hubble Space Telescope, allowing researchers to scrutinize fetal development and behavior in unprecedented detail."

The book starts at the beginning, with an incredible photograph of a human sperm actually fertilizing a human egg. That one picture and film sequence has been described as "the greatest purely optical magnification in motion-picture history."

From that point on the book traces the development of a baby girl through the sequence of tri-mesters. Her physical development is breathtaking in its beauty. But the biggest surprise for most read-ers may well be the revelations on fetal behavior. Babies are learning to sleep, taste, cry and suck their thumbs — all in the womb.

As Tallack observes, the images reveal "that the fetus behaves in a much more serious way than previously imagined." For most readers, that will likely be an understatement. In Tallack's words, "During her odyssey in the womb, she will smile, recognize her mother's voice, and maybe even dream."

At just 20 weeks of gestational age — half a normal pregnancy — a baby can grimace, smile and even laugh.

"In the Womb," the book, is based upon "In the Womb," the television documentary. The documentary is also breathtaking, and it offers the additional benefit of seeing these unprecedented images in motion. The book and the DVD together represent a scientific education of sorts. Parents will want to watch the DVD and read the book with their older children.

The development of these sophisticated imaging technologies is reshaping the abortion debate. Once these images are seen, they can never be forgotten. For the first time in human history, this generation has been given the gift of seeing inside the womb.

What we see with our own eyes is the fact that every single human being is "fearfully and wonderfully made." As the Psalmist declared: "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them" (Psalm 139:13-16).

We can now see the "unformed substance" being formed. These images allow us to see the wonder of the human baby in development. The proper response to these images is not mere wonder, however, but the worship of the Creator who reveals His glory in the womb.

Editor's note: In an addendum to his weblog, where this column originated, Mohler noted "both the film and the book mention evolution early in the story." However, he said, "this is not a matter integral to the story of the baby's progression and development."

 

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