Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Genesis 1:26-28a, 31 (ESV)
God Values Life
When Does Life Begin?
- Heartbeat: Modern technology can detect the baby’s heart 18 days after conception — about 4 days after most women miss a period and begin to suspect they are pregnant. It can be seen to beat by day 22. Between conception and birth, the heart beats approximately 54 million times!
- Brain waves: By 6 weeks and 2 days from conception, signals from the brain can be detected.
- Independent movement: Although a pregnant woman does not feel movement for at least another 8-10 weeks, the embryo begins to spontaneously move between 5-6 weeks.
- Senses: By 8 weeks and 2 days, touching the embryo will elicit squinting, jaw movement, grasping motions, and toe pointing.
- Breathing: The embryo can hiccup by 7 weeks. The diaphragm muscle is completely formed by 8 weeks and intermittent breathing motions begin.
13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16 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. Psalms 139:13-16 (ESV)
What Is A Life?
And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, Luke 1:41 (ESV)
Life Is Valued By God, And That Includes You!