Some packages don't.

Some people are just plain careless with life, both its conception and its destruction. They don't consider how their actions may result in new life, or how they may harm or even kill a new life.

At any time during pregnancy, the mother's exposure to chemicals can cause permanent harm, or even death, to the baby. Habits such as smoking or alcohol consumption (as little as one once per day) can also have serious harmful effects.

During the embryonic period (weeks two to eight), an unborn child's life is most in danger of induced abortion, either through lethal drugs such as mifeprex or methotrexate, or through surgical procedures like suction abortions. In the United States, one-fourth of all pregnancies end in abortion, more than half (55 percent) by the eighth week.1

Start early. Teach your children to cherish the wonderful gift of life. Through its work with churches and pregnancy care centers, Baptists for Life wants everyone to know how marvelous the gift of life is.

Did you know . . . ?

• Before implantation, the human embryo has everything it needs for further development. The unborn baby develops along the lines of the genetic blueprint written at conception.
• By the embryo's 18th day of life, he or she has already taken shape. Only a few days later, his or her heart starts to beat.
• Almost all our nerve cells (neurons) are generated during our time in the womb. Each neuron has its own function and identity. Did you know that in order for our adult brains to have their full complement of one trillion neurons, we were busy making 2.5 million neurons every minute we were in the womb?
• Nearly all a baby's organs are formed during weeks five through eight. By the end of this period, the baby is only one inch long and his or her organs are functional. The unborn child then becomes known as a 'fetus.' All that's needed at this point is time for growth and specialization.2
• God knew you while you were still an embryo. He also loved you and made a plan for you. Psalm 139:13-16 reveals this about that time in our lives:

1. It's not the mother or father but God Who shapes life in the womb. Even when a mother doesn't want to be pregnant, or a father doesn't care, God does. He sovereignly ordains every human life that has ever lived, or ever will live.

2. God doesn't make mistakes. His works are "marvelous." Some pregnancies may seem like a mistake, but that's not how God thinks of them.

3. God has a plan for each unborn baby. Verse 16 says all our days were written in His book "when as yet there was none of them."

4. God sees all the tiny unborn babies, even before we can through technologies such as ultrasound. He sees them when they are aborted in secret, too.

Pregnancy care centers treat the unborn with TLC

Brittany is a typical PCC client. She's been reckless with her own life -- abusing drugs and having sexual relations with a number of men. She doesn't know which of them gave her a disease. Now she's pregnant and considering abortion.

When she visits the PCC, she's not thinking about her baby, about changing her ways, or about God. But sitting down with Mary, a typical PCC volunteer, she learns biblical and scientific truths that make her think. Her appreciation for the beautiful and fragile gift she's been given grows. And she's invited to accept the greatest gift of all -- salvation through Jesus Christ.

You can help babies arrive safely and women hear the Good News by supporting your local pregnancy care center and Baptists for Life.

PLEASE READ THESE RELATED ARTICLES:

Why Do We Celebrate Life?

When Does the Unborn Look Human?

The Bible & Abortion

How Can We Prevent Abortion?

Does God Care about Problem Pregnancies?

Men & Abortion

Thinking About Abortion?

SOURCES:
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Abortion Surveillance
2. Science for Unborn Human Life