A group of Christians, which included medical professionals, sent the United States Supreme Court a brief containing 4D ultrasound images in an effort to overturn Roe v. Wade, a report says.
The Christian Post reported that a three doctors and the Catholic Association Foundation have sent the court a brief with the ultrasound imagery in line with the upcoming hearing for the Dobbs v. Jackson's Women's Health Organization.
The doctors and the foundation aim to support the state of Mississippi in overturning Roe v. Wade through scientific advancements. The said group intends to achieve this through the inclusion of "utrasound imagery as part of its amicus brief," which the Supreme Court "granted special permission" to the Catholic Association Foundation to do.
As per The Christian Post, the Supreme Court will determine through the Mississippi case whether "[n]o state interest is constitutionally adequate to ban abortions before viability." By "viability," the court is referring to the unborn baby's ability to survive outside the womb since Roe v. Wade says this happens only during 28 weeks of gestation while the Planned Parenthood v. Casey says it is 23-24 weeks of gestation.
The Mississippi case involves 15 weeks of gestation. Should the court decide on the side of Mississippi, this would mean overturning Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
The brief introduced the three doctors Monique Chireau Wubbenhorst, a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist; Grazie Pozo Christie, a diagnostic radiologist; and Colleen Malloy, a board-certified neonatal-perinatal pediatrics. The female doctors stressed their expertise and experience in the field has fueled them to push the interest of their clients--women, mothers, and the unborn--by sending the brief, especially in the face of the advances in science that affect the viability of the unborn.
"As they care for both women and their unborn children as their patients, amici physicians have seen firsthand in their clinical practices how science has advanced dramatically since Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey were decided. These advancements not only affect when a fetus is viable, but also create new concerns that States should be able to consider when restricting abortion," the brief said on the doctors' interest on the case.
As per the 47-paged brief, "'viability' no longer means what it did at the time of Roe and Casey." The brief stressed that the Roe v. Wade changed the perception of of the public on the "humanity of the unborn child" that was considered by the American Medical Association since 1859 to be "human life."
"Even without ultrasound technology, doctors hav long known that the baby was alive in the womb. In 1859, the American Medical Association unanimously approved a report deeming abortion the 'unwarrantable destruction of human life.' But the development of fetal ultrasound revolutionized our understanding of the fetus. Technological advances since Roe and Casey have allowed for widespread use and better-quality images, giving the public a growing appreciation of the fetus in utero," the brief read.
The brief enlisted the reasons the unborn baby is in fact "human," and is given more appreciation through the colored 4D ultrasound images of the baby's face and body parts. Advancements in ultrasound technology, which used to show only blurry images in black and white, has now provided "a clear window" through which doctors and parents "witness the humanity of the unborn child."
Addressing the issue on the viability of the unborn at 15 weeks gestation, the doctors pointed out that at this time "the child is already well past the embryonic stage of development and into the fetal stage, which extends from 11 to 39 weeks."
The doctors confirm that the fetus at this time is "unmistakably human" contrary to Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The doctors explain that at 15 weeks of gestation the child is fully "formed and functioning" since all major organs are complete, which includes the brain, kidneys, liver, and pancreas, and lungs, as well as its respiratory, urinary, and digestive systems.
"This is the living reality of what is at issue in this case: a tiny boy or girl who, at 15 weeks, kicks, breathes, and hiccups, who has little fingers that open and close-and who has undeniably 'assum(ed) the human form.',' the doctors pointed out.
"Science has not only plainly revealed the human form of the unborn child. It has led to the recognition of the fetus as a patient in her own right," they added. "The judgment of the court of appeals should be reversed."
The brief expressed that the Court must not "strike the wrong balance" as it did in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey by acting as "ex officio medical board," especially since these are an "outdated precedent." The "democratic solution" would be to "permit State legislatures" to act on the matter since they are able to respond to it according to "current science."
