Ohio Gov. John Kasich came under fire last week for signing a bill outlawing abortion after 20 weeks gestation. The ghoulish Left, hell-bent on maintaining a “right” to abortion at any time, for any reason, went ballistic. In response to the outrage, I tweeted a missive from the train, the movement of which makes my own 20-week gestation baby do somersaults:
Seeing fetal kicks through my dress at 20 weeks and having a mentions column full of folks saying my baby isn’t human yet is like — Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) December 13, 2016
Scroll through some of the responses if you care to lose your faith in humanity. One of the more common tweets I received was that I was carrying tissue, not an actual baby. Some photographic evidence comes in handy in refuting that bit of anti-science rhetoric common from pro-abortion activists:
This is a person. Sorry if that’s inconvenient for the narrative. https://t.co/UrFus00VLU pic.twitter.com/g1l1p5d3A8— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) December 13, 2016
How has the pro-abortion lobby continued this lie about the science behind fetal development? And why do we let them?
The Unborn Are More Than Mere ‘Clumps Of Cells’
As any pregnant woman with a smartphone can attest, the information is out there. Simply download a popular pregnancy iPhone app and learn just how much humanity is in such a small “clump of cells.” While pregnant, up until 24 weeks and six days (the point at which it becomes illegal to remove the living being growing in my womb in my home state of New Jersey), opening up these pregnancy apps and going for ultrasounds can be devastating.
I know the baby inside of me is safe, but many others are not. Mothers are lied to, made to believe their babies are unfeeling balls of tissue and cells instead of what they really are: unborn, quickly developing babies. Local abortion clinics advertising these services use euphemisms like, “The physician will then use surgical instruments and vacuum aspiration (suction) to remove your pregnancy.”
The Left tells itself that women are making this choice out of necessity, even after the first trimester. What about babies where the mother discovers a fatal birth defect at her 20-week ultrasound? Even FactCheck.org refutes the argument that reasoning motivates women who abort their unborn children long past when their pregnancy test showed a + sign.
What We Can Learn About A Second-Trimester Baby
Between 12 and 24 weeks gestation, a baby that can be legally aborted for any reason whatsoever in the majority of U.S. states. But as a popular pregnancy app (Sprout) shows us, these babies are not just bunches of tissue after all. 
A baby starts looking like a baby around week eight, and begins moving its limbs by week nine. At the beginning of the second trimester, a baby has also developed internal organs and even vocal chords. At 12 weeks, still on the border between the first and second trimester, a baby inside its mother’s womb is behaving shockingly like… a baby.
In weeks 14 and 15, babies behave in a purposeful manner. Turns out they aren’t unaware balls of tissue floating in amniotic fluid. The pregnancy app notes of this stage of development, “simple facial gestures may now be visible on ultrasound, including grimacing and squinting.” Imagine how these babies behave when vacuum aspirators make an appearance.
When babies reach 17 weeks gestation, pregnant mothers using this iPhone app learn their babies begin to hear sounds. At 18 weeks, a baby’s reflexes are more developed, and begins yawning and hiccupping.
Contrary To Abortion Advocates, The Unborn Can Feel Pain
In order to sleep at night, many abortion advocates claim that babies at the 20-week mark still are unable to feel pain. Juxtapose that assertion with this bit of information from week 19: 
Before having children, I considered myself pro-life, but I was rather dispassionate on the subject. Upon my first child’s first ultrasound, when I heard her heartbeat for the first time, I became deeply passionate about the humanity even the smallest of humans possess.
My passion doesn’t come from my religious convictions, but rather, from science. I learned how much development takes places in such a short amount of time, as I read pregnancy books and used pregnancy apps like this one. I googled “21 weeks pregnant” looking for images of babies at this stage—and saw banner advertisements for abortion clinics willing to perform the procedure on this baby, the baby I could feel squirming inside of me.
