Smiling foetus images fuel abortion debate

Vivid images of unborn babies stretching and chuckling are threatening to reignite the abortion debate.

The images, captured using new 3D/4D ultrasound scanning, give an unprecedented peek into the hidden world of unborn babies. They show foetuses as young as 12 weeks stretching, kicking and leaping around the womb - well before the mother can feel movement.

So lifelike are the images that they have aroused international media attention. Now, anti-abortion groups are claiming the images are further evidence unborn babies should be granted the same rights as other human beings.

Independent columnist Johann Hari describes the photos as the "best propaganda weapon in decades" for anti-abortion groups. "Most people understandably feel concern when they see these photographs ... because they think it is a person like you and I, a being that wants to go on living."

Hari warns an "anti-choice" storm is coming in the wake of the pictures. The images of older foetuses smiling and yawning make late abortions increasingly untenable, he says.

He suggests abortions after 18 weeks should be banned. "This reform would batten down the moral hatches for the anti-choice storm heading our way."

When similar images were released in September last year, they prompted a flurry of responses from anti-abortion lobbyists. ProLife Party spokeswoman Julia Millington described the images as showing "the delightful reality of the humanity of the unborn baby. We cannot believe that anybody could continue supporting abortion when they see these extraordinary pictures."

Even the doctor who produced the scans - Stuart Campbell of the Create Health clinic in London - has said he believes the normal 24-week legal limit for terminations should be reassessed. "The more I study foetuses the more I find it quite distressing to terminate babies who are so advanced in terms of human behaviour."

Dr Campbell has just released a book of the images called Watch Me Grow.

The pictures reveal babies can open their eyes from 18 weeks. Until recently, many doctors thought eyelids remained fused until 26 weeks. Others show foetuses exhibiting typical baby behaviour, including smiling, crying and hiccupping.

Dr Campbell captured the images using a 3D scanning technique his clinic has used since 2002. The 3D ultrasound takes a volume of echoes which can be stored digitally and shaded to produce a vivid likeness of the foetus. In 4D scans, these pictures can be seen moving in real time, showing the activity of the unborn baby.

In New Zealand, Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child secretary Philip Lynch has welcomed the images. "I think it highlights, for people who were not previously aware, the humanity of the child."

However, Auckland University head of obstetrics and gynaecology Peter Stone is sceptical whether the images contribute anything concrete to the abortion debate.

"We've been through this 30 years ago [when babies were viewed using ultrasound]. It's a non sequitur argument because the foetus doesn't have legal rights in Britain or New Zealand."

3D imaging has been available in New Zealand for about three years, but it is not provided as a routine service.

Professor Stone says the technology has limited clinical applications. "You can make pretty pictures but whether that actually makes a difference is another matter."

He argues against using 3D and 4D scanning equipment. They can result in unnecessary risk and use up resources that are needed more elsewhere.

Ultrasound pictures and videos

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Herald Feature: Health