Note: The following article discusses a metaphor introduced by Dr. Richard Stith regarding two varying understandings of prenatal development. One is an inaccurate but common perception that the unborn child is like a project that is "under construction." The other is the reality that the unborn life is developing, like a Polaroid photograph, not being constructed.

Understanding the inaccurate but common "under construction" perception vs. that of a life that is in-tact, but simply developing over time, is helpful to remember when communicating with "pro-choice" audiences who may be thinking of an unborn child in this way. It is important to understand this perspective while, reminding people of the more accurate concept of a developing, not "under construction" life. This then illustrates the importance of protecting the right to life of each unique unborn child.

In December of 2005 an op-ed piece by sociologist Dalton Conley appeared in the New York Times, stating that “most Americans... see a fetus as an individual under construction.” This widespread vision of the embryo and fetus as “under construction” is the key to understanding why good people may find prolife arguments to be absurd or otherwise non-rational; eg, religious, particularly with regard to embryonic stem cell research. ...

Just think of something being constructed (fabricated, assembled, composed, sculpted – in short, made), such as a house, or a scholarly article – or take a car on an assembly line. When is a car first there? At what point in the assembly line would we first say, “There’s a car”? Some of us would no doubt go with appearance, saying that there is a car as soon as the body is fairly complete (in analogy to the fetus at 10 weeks or so). I suppose that most of us would look for something functional. We would say that there is a car only after a motor is in place (in analogy to quickening). Others might wait for the wheels (in analogy to viability) or even the windshield wipers (so that it’s viable even in the rain). And a few might say, “It’s not a car until it rolls out onto the street” (in analogy to birth). There would be many differing opinions.

However, one thing upon which we’ll probably all agree is this: Nobody is going to say that the car is there at the very beginning of the assembly line, when the first screw or rivet is put in or when two pieces of metal are first welded together. (You can see how little I know about car manufacturing.) Two pieces of metal fastened together don’t match up to anybody’s idea of a car.

I think that this is exactly the way that many people see the embryo, like the car-to-be at the very beginning of the construction process. ...

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