Photos show what the embryo looks like with less than 10 weeks. Look

Ethical discussions between groups in favor and against the interruption of pregnancy revolve around the moment when the embryo is formed and also its physical characteristics, such as the formation of limbs, internal organs and heartbeat.

To better understand how the beginning of pregnancy occurs, the foundation MYA Network, formed by doctors and activists at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, documented in photos what the human embryo looks like during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, using material collected during pregnancy interruptions.

The creation of the MYA Network

The recent revocation of the case Roe vs Wade, which marked a legal setback in the United States, allowed American states to create their own legislation to deal with abortion. In 14 American states, legal abortion has been restricted, and in 13 of them, termination of pregnancy is prohibited even in its early stages.

But the origin of the MYA Network occurred at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, when American states took advantage of the crisis to declare abortion a “non-essential” procedure. In this way, the right to terminate a pregnancy, which until then was guaranteed, was curtailed, leading to the creation of the organization that aims to guarantee the reproductive rights of people with a uterus.

Doctors who would like to do more than that then banded together to not only show that women should have the power to choose over their bodies, but also to show that it is possible for abortions to be done safely.

There is no reason medical so that early abortion cannot be provided as part of regular medical care . In fact, using telemedicine, a single clinician mailing abortion pills can provide abortion care to every patient in their state! In states that ban telemedicine for abortion care, doctors can dispense pills outside their offices. They may also offer Manual Uterine Aspiration, a quick and simple in-office procedure that can be done at a regular medical clinic.

MYA Network responsible

In addition to supporting the procedure in all US states, doctors at MYA Network are focused on specializing doctors and even providing assistance via telemedicine so that people with a uterus can safely terminate a pregnancy.

It's about health, not politics.  Our activist movement was born out of a desire to use our positions as medical providers to ensure that essential medical care is not diminished but strengthened during the pandemic. Since then, the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg increased our motivation to create a foundation of health care that doesn't leave us vulnerable to politics.

MYA Network responsible

What happens after fertilization?

Most abortions performed in the US are carried out in pregnancies of up to 10 weeks, when it is still not possible to distinguish an organism inside the uterus, that is, there is no visible embryo. After this period, the formation of organs and limbs begins to be evidenced, reaching the complete development of a human being at the end of pregnancy.

Doctors specializing in pregnancy say that the heartbeats perceived before six weeks of pregnancy are, in fact, electrical activities of the cells that are yet to form the heart - because until this moment the formation of the organ in the embryo has not yet occurred. However, doctors take it for granted that there is a beating heart as an emotional support for the expectant mother.

See what the embryo looks like in the first weeks of pregnancy

MYA Network doctors have documented in photos the tissue collected in pregnancies that are terminated before they are 10 weeks old, removing the blood and menstrual lining to show what actually exists at this point in the pregnancy. This is an image of a gestational sac after four weeks in the uterus:

In theory, the growth of the embryo happens from there, but what we see is just a bunch of cells forming a tissue, and according to science there is still no life. The image below already shows the gestational sac extracted after five weeks, which, as you can see, also does not include the formation of a fetus:

Moving on to the sixth week of gestation, when the “heartbeat” of the future baby can already be heard — but these are cellular activities, as explained previously — the image is even more curious. The fertilized fetus measures less than one centimeter and, although many people against abortion claim that a child dies, there is still no life created inside the womb.

Doctors date pregnancy from the first day of your last period to help predict the due date. But you are not pregnant for the first two weeks. Many images of early pregnancy are driven by people who are against abortion and feel that life begins at conception, or by prenatal enthusiasts who want women to be excited about pregnancy. But what happens to those who are not happy about it?

Dr Joan Fleischman, MYA Network Specialist

When it reaches seven weeks, the pregnancy is a little more advanced, but the fetus doesn't really exist yet. Here, Dr. Joan explains that this is why anti-abortion people are not in favor of the procedure. He says that “these people expect to see a tiny fetus with hands – a full-fledged, miniature baby. What actually doesn't happen and then they feel cheated".

Despite being much larger than the previous stages, the eight-week gestational sac is still not developing the baby. THE MYA Network also says that there is no right time for the abortion to be performed, but they remind that the person needs to accept that the baby is being removed at the beginning of the pregnancy. Check out the photo:

Finishing the images, the photo below shows the gestational sac of a person who was in the ninth week of pregnancy. Some people who perform abortions request to see the material removed from the uterus, and are relieved to see that there is no fetus with organs and limbs.

It is true that many people do not even speak openly about having had an abortion, but the procedure indicated by the MYA Network lasts less than a Pap smear.

Is abortion in Brazil legal?

According to the Article 128 do Criminal Code, abortion is permitted by law only in cases of risk for the person who is carrying the fetus, but situations of pregnancy by rape and, recently, in the presence of fetal anencephaly, are also reasons for a person to be able to end a pregnancy before it ends naturally. If it is not within these situations, abortion is considered a crime, provided for in articles 124 to 126 of the Penal Code of 1940.

Unfortunately, everything still depends on the willingness and acceptance of the medical team involved in the case, as it is not difficult to find cases of people (including children) who had the right to have an abortion and were prevented from having their right exercised.

Did you expect a pregnancy before 10 weeks to have only cells? tell us Comment.

See also other features

Up to what age can a woman get pregnant: see the example of Claudia Raia

Sources: The Guardian l MYA Network l Student Guide