Discussing the 2019 Ohio 'Heartbeat Protection Act' in an email to supporters she wrote 'The slogan, 'Abortion stops a beating heart,' has long been an effective way to highlight the injustice and inhumanity of abortion.'Ĭommenting on the adoption of this phrase by politicians, Canadian-American gynecologist Dr. Janet Folger Porter, an Ohio anti-abortion activist, first coined the term 'abortion stops a beating heart,' which helped so-called 'heartbeat bills' overcome constitutional concerns in states that support them. Yet the idea of a 'fetal heartbeat' in relation to tighter abortion laws simply won't go away. At this stage, 'embryo' is the correct term, with 'fetus' only becoming applicable after around eight weeks of development. Michael Cackovic, maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center, spoke out against the use of the term 'first fetal heartbeat' by Republican lawmakers.Ĭackovic, who practices in Ohio, told the Associated Press the laws are based on nothing other than the 'amazing technological advances' that mean it is now possible to pick up the embryonic cardiac activity in its earliest stages.Įven the term 'fetal' may be considered inaccurate when talking about pregnancy at six weeks. Valves that don't yet exist at this stage of development.Īftab is not the only doctor to challenge the six-week 'fetal heartbeat' concept. When a doctor listens to a patient's heartbeat with a stethoscope what they are detecting is the opening and closing of cardiac valves. The flutter is different from what we picture as a beating heart and can't be heard by doctors via a stethoscope. Penalties for Abortion, Rape in Texas Explained Amid Claims They're SimilarĪftab said that this flutter can be detected by ultrasound, but is little more than the cluster of cells that will become the heart gaining the capacity to transmit electrical signals.ĭespite this, the 'fetal heartbeat' idea has now become part of laws designed to restrict abortion access in at least 9 states, according to data from the Guttmacher Institute, a non-profit organization that researches and advocates for sexual and reproductive health.As Texas Republicans Cheer Abortion Win, Senators Cruz, Cronyn Are Silent.

TX Website for Reporting Abortion Providers May Violate Web Company's Rules.It is a manufactured sound designed to convince people that men have the right to take control of a woman’s body away from her. Anti-abortion advocates have long called for banning abortion at six weeks of pregnancy, fasely asserting that a “fetal heartbeat” can be detected at that point.ĭuring a panel discussion in Atlanta this week, Abrams addressed Georgia's six-week ban, stating, “There is no such thing as a heartbeat at six weeks. In late July, a federal court greenlit Georgia’s six-week abortion ban, allowing the restriction to take effect after being stalled in the court system since Georgia Gov. On the Thursday edition of The Faulkner Focus, Fox host Will Cain responded to Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams debunking the medically inaccurate concept of a prenatal heartbeat at six weeks, attacking Abrams for spreading what he described as a “QAnon-plus level” conspiracy theory.

Heartbeat at 6 weeks