All these bills that aim to restrict women’s rights and limit abortion access after “6” weeks is at best a misrepresentation, and at worst a knowing lie.
Pregnancy dating is measure in a strange way that most people don’t know.
Pregnancy isn’t measured from conception, or when the sperm finds and penetrates the egg.
Pregnancy is measured from the date of the woman’s last menstrual period.
The reason for this is that we aren’t sure when the actual date of conception is (except for with in vitro fertilization), but most women remember when their last period started.
We do know that most conception happens around mid cycle, so about 2 weeks from LMP (last menstrual period).
So when you see all these highly restrictive laws being passed that talk of 6 weeks (which is still before many women know they are pregnant), it makes me mad for many reasons.
But one of the major problems for me is that most people don’t realize this really means the fetus is only 4 weeks post fertilization and the fetus is only the size of a grain of rice. About 6 millimeters or .23 inches.
My suggestion is that every time these bills are talked about, people correctly call them 4 week bills. That every mention of 6 weeks is corrected to 4 weeks, as I believe most people don’t know this and it drives home just how early this really is.
Push back is needed and I really believe that repeatedly correcting these legislators will serve multiple purposes.
1. It will make them mad to be corrected. They want people to think the pregnancy is further along.
2. It will highlight to most people just how early this restriction starts.
3. Heck, it might just inform and educate them. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and maybe they really don’t know that a 6 week restriction is really only 4 weeks pregnant.