| When does Life Begin? |
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“Then the Lord God formed man of the dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7
The Center for Garden State Families has Five Areas of Focus. Our first area of focus is our first liberties precisely outlined in the First Amendment. Our second area of focus is Life. It is the second area on which we will focus on here. First liberties mean nothing without life. You cannot exercise your freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to assemble, or redress grievances unless you are alive. The Center for Garden Families is pro-life from conception to natural death. Let us begin by defining when life begins. Life begins at conception. When people speak of conception, they usually mean when a sperm fertilizes an egg. This is the first step in pregnancy. Fertilization can happen within hours or days of having sex without birth control. Sperm can remain alive in the female reproductive tract for up to 5 days, but whether or not conception occurs will depend on various factors, including the stage of the menstrual cycle. After fertilization, the egg descends into the uterus and attaches itself to the uterine lining. This is known as implantation. Both fertilization and implantation need to occur for someone to become pregnant. Conception is not a medical term. Some people use it to refer only to fertilization, while others use it to refer to the overall process of creating a pregnancy. Because of this, scientists tend to use more precise terms. From Medical News Today So as not to get weighed down in those precise terms, let us understand that many eggs are fertilized but not all attach to the uterine lining. At the moment of fertilization, when the sperm with 23 chromosomes enters the egg, which also has 23 chromosomes, that very cell then has 46 chromosomes. That single cell is uniquely human. No other microorganism on the planet has 46 chromosomes. What about those people born with extra chromosomes? They are still uniquely human. To reiterate that single cell is now uniquely human. However, in practical biological terms that cell which begins to divide must be implanted in the uterine wall, or it cannot survive. The fertilized human cell that does not implant to the uterine lining will be expelled out of the mother’s body. Let’s meet Olivia. Click on the video below: |
Olivia, like all of us, began with a spark!
Only within the last decade has something miraculous been discovered. Filmed using fluorescence microscopy in 2016 Northwestern University recorded the zinc spark at the moment of fertilization. When the sperm enters the egg a zinc spark is recorded. Of course, at that microscopic level, it’s more like zinc lightning. Watch the short video below.
Just like our founding fathers, The Center for Garden State Families acknowledges that we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights. We acknowledge that all living things are created and are highly organized from the smallest part to the largest. Our Creator made a magnificent intentional design, created in His image, formed after His likeness to have direct fellowship with the Divine. We are the Imago Dei, the image of God.
We are pro-life from conception to natural death. We do not support the illusion of choice either in the womb or at the time of death. Physician-assisted suicide is a ruse! When made legal, it rarely has any oversight, no conditions, and no safety measures. The current physician-assisted suicide law in New Jersey, which was passed by one vote of each chamber in the New Jersey legislature, is a scenario for the perfect murder.
“At a time when life is devalued, when people are killed over necklaces or iPods, physician-assisted suicide ill-serves patients, physicians, and society,” said Michael H. Levy, M.D., Ph.D., during a talk at Internal Medicine Grand Rounds in January 2007.
“If we look at physician-assisted suicide as an act of hastening death,” said Levy, vice chair of the Department of Medical Oncology at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, “then it is an act of harm. … Do we really need to kill the patient to kill the pain?”
Levy said physician-assisted suicide violates key tenets of medical ethics; erodes trust in health professionals; and diminishes what he called “the miracle of life.” It also denies a patient’s loved ones the chance to provide care at the end of life. If legitimized, he said, it could force doctors to provide a service they oppose. And, he continued, it could stifle the search for alternate ways to relieve suffering.
“I think the risk to society far outweighs the benefits,” Levy said. Yale School of Medicine
The Center for Garden State Families will always defend and protect human life from conception to natural death.
Rev. Gregory Quinlan