WE FATHERED ABORTED BABIES

I've been thinking about the fall issue of Ms. magazine, the "We Had Abortions" issue on newsstands today.

It seems sexist to me.

Women have received the opportunity to get their names listed in a national publication, proudly proclaiming that they've had abortions.

The "didn't wanna be" mothers are getting all the attention.

What about the fathers?

The dads always seem to get the short end of the stick when it comes to abortion.

Shouldn't they get their fair share of acknowledgment?

Poor dads of aborted babies -- They get no respect.

Don't they deserve better?

After all, without the men, the women wouldn't have been able to become pregnant in the first place. If the women didn't conceive children, they wouldn't have been able to abort them. And if they didn't abort their babies, their names wouldn't be in the latest issue of Ms. magazine.

I think the magazine should have offered a petition for men to sign and published it along with the women's names.

The editors at Ms. could have had fun with the "temporary" fathers list.

They could have given special recognition to the "We Fathered Aborted Babies" men in various categories:

1. The father with the most aborted children

2. The youngest father at the time his child was aborted

3. The oldest father at the time his child was aborted

4. The father who impregnated the greatest number of different women that aborted his children

The possibilities are endless really.

It just doesn't seem fair that the women of "We Had Abortions" are getting all the glory.

The men should also get their moment in the limelight.
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From the Minnesota Department of Health:

FETAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE UNBORN CHILD

FIRST TRIMESTER

2 Weeks

--Following implantation the blastocyst is called an embryo.
--The embryo is about 1/100 of an inch long at this time.
--The embryo continues to grow.

4 Weeks

--The embryo is about 1/6 to 1/4 inch long and has developed a head and a trunk.
--Structures that will become arms and legs, called limb buds, begin to appear.
--A blood vessel forms which will later develop into the heart and circulatory system. Blood is beginning to be pumped and is visible by ultrasound.
--At about the same time, a ridge of tissue forms down the length of the embryo. That tissue will later develop into the brain and spinal cord.

6 Weeks

--The embryo is about 1/2 to 3/4 inches.
--The heart now has four chambers.
--Fingers and toes begin to form.
--Reflex activity begins with the development of the brain and nervous system.
--Cells are starting to form the eyes, ears, jaws, lungs, stomach, intestines and liver.

8 Weeks

--The fetus, until now called an embryo, is about 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 inches long (with the head making up about half this size) and weighs less than 1/2 ounce.
--The beginnings of all key body parts are present, although they are not completely positioned in their final locations.
--Structures that will form eyes, ears, arms and legs are identifiable.
--Muscles and skeleton are developing and the nervous system becomes more responsive.

10 Weeks

--The fetus is about 2-1/2 inches from head to rump, weighing about 1-1/2 ounces.
--Fingers and toes are distinct and have nails.
--The fetus begins small, random movements, too slight to be felt.
--The fetal heartbeat can be detected with a doppler or heart monitor.
--All major external body features have appeared.
--Muscles continue to develop.

12 Weeks

--The fetus is about 3-1/2 inches from head to rump and weighs about 2 ounces.
--The fetus begins to swallow, the kidneys make urine, and blood begins to form in the bone marrow.
--Joints and muscles allow full body movement.
--There are eyelids and the nose is developing a bridge.
--External genitals have been developing so that the sex can be identified.

In pictures: Watch me grow

Fetuses as young as 11 weeks have been seen with their thumbs in their mouths. This baby started out sucking his smallest toes and gradually moves on to suck a bigger and better toe. (BBC)




Babies produce a motion approximating to yawning from as early as 12 weeks' pregnancy. Maybe this is nature's way of ensuring that as soon as she enters the world, she'll be able to take her first breath. (BBC)

Choice?