OPINION:
Science tells us that an unborn child is a human being. That was my response to former Vice President Joe Biden’s tweet earlier this week that said, “we need a president who believes in science.” So, is Mr. Biden a denier?
Like most of his political career, Joe Biden’s record on abortion is a series of flip-flops. He now embraces an extreme view of abortion on demand all the way through birth. In 1973, Joe Biden said the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision went “too far.” Today, he will appoint justices who will uphold it.
During his time in the U.S. Senate, Mr. Biden voted on multiple occasions to prevent federal employees from obtaining taxpayer-funded abortion services. After being attacked during the Democratic primaries, Mr. Biden switched his position. He now supports taxpayer-funded abortion.
So what does science tell us about this subject? A statement by the American College of Pediatricians states that they concur “with the body of scientific evidence that corroborates that a unique human life starts when the sperm and egg bind to each other in a process of fusion of their respective membranes and a single hybrid cell called a zygote, or one-cell embryo, is created.” In other words, science tells us that an unborn child is a human being.
From the point of fertilization, a baby’s unique genetic makeup and DNA are complete, including their sex and hair color. A few weeks later, a baby’s heart begins to beat. Brain waves can be detected not long after that and eventually all of the organs are complete. The baby needs the remainder of the time in the womb to grow.
A visual version of what science tells us can be seen through an ultrasound. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that all moms get an ultrasound during the first trimester of their pregnancy.
This ultrasound will help determine the estimated due date, check on the placement of the baby and see if there is more than one baby. It will also confirm the heartbeat of a baby. Abortion stops a beating heart, ending the life of what science tells us is a human being.
Typically, a second ultrasound is done between week 18 and 22. It gives a better understanding of the overall health of the baby. This is where families learn the sex of their baby, as well as view the placement of the placenta, observe the level of amniotic fluid, check on organs and measure the size of the baby.
For Tonette and me, this was very exciting as we could see our child. We could see the profile of our first-born as he turned on his side and extended his hand near his head as if he was sucking on his thumb.
Both of us were pro-life before then, but that moment cemented our commitment to protecting innocent life. Matthew was our gift from God. And we were blessed again with the birth of Alexander a year, a month and a day later.
Science could be used to prove that Tonette and I were the parents of our two sons even before they were born. It is why people generally send sympathy cards, instead of get-well cards, to families that experience the sad loss of a baby through a miscarriage or stillborn. It is because they lost their unborn child and not because they lost a tissue or an organ.
During my time as governor, I was proud to sign into law Wisconsin Act 37, also known as Sonya’s Law. Pregnant women in Wisconsin have the opportunity to see their child through an ultrasound before making a choice about how to proceed with the pregnancy. As science tells us, an unborn child is a human being. Seeing is believing.
The facts are clear. But just because there is evidence among the scientific community does not mean that those with political motives cannot change the narrative. In 1942, the National Museum of Health and Medicine’s Human Development Anatomy Center formally instituted the Carnegie Chart, which contains the 23 Stages of development of the early human being during the eight-week embryonic period. Since then, it has been included in textbooks and curriculum around the world.
Unfortunately, there are some people aggressively working to remove these facts from our textbooks and curriculum within the United States. It seems that their motives are more political than they are scientific. We need to push back.
Even Mr. Biden acknowledges, as he said during the 2012 vice presidential debate, that “life begins at conception. That’s the church’s judgment. I accept it in my personal life.” So maybe he’s not a science denier.
On this issue, it’s worse. Mr. Biden acknowledges the science and still supports ending the life of another human being. Which is why he must never be president.
• Scott Walker was the 45th governor of Wisconsin. You can contact him at swalker@washingtontimes.com or follow him @ScottWalker.
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