"Sanctity of Life,"

On Abortion

Almost Wasn't Born ... Charles McCarry can claim a
varied career. In addition to being the author of "The
Tears of Autumn" and "The Last Supper," he served as
assistant to the Secretary of Labor in the Eisenhower
cabinet and has done two stints in the CIA. But he
almost wasn't born.

Says McCarry, "My mother became pregnant with me at the
age of 39. She had nearly died while giving birth to my
only sibling. Her doctor, who believed the second
pregnancy was a serious threat to her life, advised an
abortion. The advice made sense but my mother refused
to accept it. Just before she died at age 97, I asked
her why. She replied, "I wanted to see who you were
going to turn out to be."

In a letter to the "Wall Street Journal," quoted in
Feb. 1990, "Reader's Digest."

* * * * * *

C. Everett Koop, M.D., formerly the Surgeon General,
states that during his 35 plus years of practicing
medicine, "Never once did a case come across my
practice where abortion was necessary to save a
mother's life."

"Sanctity of Life," C. Swindoll, Word, 1990, p. 23
Heartbeat

* * * * * *

Medical authorities determine a person to be "alive" if
there is either a detectable heartbeat or brain-wave
activity. With that in mind, it is eye-opening for some
to realize that unborn children have detectable
heartbeats at eighteen days (two and one-half weeks)
after conception and detectable brain-wave activity
forty days (a little over five and one-half weeks)
after conception. What is so shocking is that
essentially 100 percent of all abortions occur after
the seventh week of pregnancy.

"Sanctity of Life," C. Swindoll, Word, 1990, pp. 11-12