Heartbeat, Electricity, and the Medulla Oblongata
Blog Series #7 Modern Science a.k.a. COMMON SENSE, part 1b
So … what is causing that ultrasound ‘heartbeat’ at 6 weeks’ gestation?
Electricity.
The mammalian heart is designed to produce and conduct electricity. At week 5 of gestation, the fetal human heart develops a sinoatrial (SA) node that produces electricity. By week 6, the fetal heart is conducting that electricity well enough to pump blood through ventricles even while they are still developing and yet to be connected to the respiratory system. It is this electrical activity that the ultrasound detects at 6 weeks’ gestation. This article on the Electrical Conduction System of the Heart in the Cleveland Clinic is written in layman’s terms, and one of the more easy-to-understand pieces I’ve seen on this topic. For more on fetal respiratory development, check out ‘An Amazing Journey: How Young Lungs Develop’ by the American Lung Association. According to this article, the fetal lungs are not fully developed or able to function inter-dependently with the heart until 37 weeks’ (9th month) gestation or … essentially … BIRTH.
So … does this electrical activity mean the fetus is ‘alive’ at 6 weeks’ gestation? Not exactly. The fetal lungs are not able to function on their own until at least 36 weeks’ (9 months’) gestation and … remember, the fetal heart ventricles will not open up to or be connected with the respiratory system until air is present at BIRTH (see the Fetal Circulation article linked in my ‘Heartbeat’ post).
When you think about it, these two systems (both the cardiac and respiratory systems) have to be functioning 1. independently and 2. inter-dependently with one another for any mammal to be defined as ‘alive’ or ‘living.’ The Bible has been telling us this for thousands of years now in Genesis 2:7 and Job 27:4 (NIV 2011). It’s not even modern science. It’s just COMMON SENSE that has been around for millennia.
Think about it.
No … really … I do encourage YOU to think about it because maga* politicians and evangelical religious leaders refuse to. It’s not in their best interest.
Medulla Oblongata
Equally important to electrical current, the heart valves require a fully developed nervous system and BRAIN to pump blood independently. Specifically, the part of the brain that controls the cardiac and pulmonary systems is the Medulla Oblongata. This part of the fetal brain is not developed fully until 20 weeks gestation. For this information, refer to the third paragraph under ‘Embryology’ in Science Direct’s description of the Medulla Oblongata.
Conclusions:
Independent fetal heart function cannot begin before 20 weeks’ (5 months’) gestation when the Medulla Oblongata portion of the fetus’ brain is fully developed. Therefore, the ‘heartbeat’ detectable by ultrasound at 6 weeks’ gestation is not even a heartbeat, nor is it a sign of ‘infant life.’ It is simply the detection of electrical production and conduction.
Even with a fully developed Medulla Oblongata after 20 weeks’ gestation, the ventricles of the fetal heart are closed off from its developing respiratory system. That is why the fetal respiratory system is unable to function prior to birth. It is also why the first breath of an infant is the universal sign (both Biblical and Medical) that a new human is ‘alive’.
Despite what appears to be a fetal ‘heartbeat’ on an ultrasound screen, any mammalian fetus when detached from its life-support system prior to full gestation has a very low chance of initiating, then sustaining the function of its own bodily systems independently ie: LIVING.
COMMON SENSE:
No scientific evidence is required to deduce that when you remove a human fetus from its biological life-support system (the womb) prior to 20 weeks’ (5 months’) gestation, it cannot sustain the function of its own bodily systems on its own. This is especially true at only 6 weeks’ gestation when the fetal heart is undeveloped.
A mammalian fetus — at ANY phase of gestation — never did breathe air with lungs through nostrils. Without a fully developed heart or lungs (not to mention a Medulla Oblongata that regulates both), no mammal can be defined as ‘alive.’ This is how we know that the human fetus in it’s second trimester of development is not alive and therefore it is not murder-able.
An organism has to be alive first before it can be killed.
Regardless of the electrical activity an ultrasound can detect, the pregnant woman is the living breathing human in a pregnancy, not the fetus.
In case you are still wondering, and contrary to what conservative politicians or evangelical church leaders yell at you:
It is the pregnant woman who can be murdered, not the fetus her body sustains.
[*I use ‘maga’ to represent the current use of the slogan ‘make america great again’ by the U.S. far-right conservative political party. However, the word ‘mega’ is a synonym for ‘huge.’ Within the context of church attendance, a ‘mega church’ typically boasts more than 1,000 members. While these words are usually pronounced the same, they are spelled differently and have very different meanings. The first is used to describe a secular political aspiration/ideology, and the second to describe a religious setting.]