September 10, 2010
‘Show dignity of the unborn child’
Fetal development models in use at St. Philip School
Science teacher Dennis Hargett shows a model of a 30-week fetus to fourth graders at St. Philip School in Posey County. (Message photo by Mary Ann Hughes) Click for a larger version.
By MARY ANN HUGHES (Message staff writer)
Proverbs 22 reminds us to direct children onto the right path so when they are older they will not leave it.
Members of the Respect Life group at St. Philip Church in Posey County are hoping to do just that — teach the lesson that life is precious from conception to natural death — through the use of fetal development models.
Group member Deanna Gossens explains, “The idea is that you have to start really young — in an appropriate way — to talk about God’s gift of life.”
The group recently asked the Posey County Right to Life organization to purchase a set of four realistic models of the human fetus, one depicting 12 weeks gestation, one at 20 weeks, one at 26 weeks, and one at 30 weeks.
The models were given to Dennis Hargett, the science teacher at St. Philip, who recently showed them to his fourth graders.
He started the lesson by telling the students “we want to talk about growth and development, how humans grow and develop.”
As he held up the tiniest model — at 12 weeks gestation — he noted that fetuses at that age have ears, fingers, toes and eyes. Their hearts are pumping, and their livers are functioning.
The genes are all present, they are well-proportioned, and “of the 4,500 structures of the human body, 4,000 are already present. It went from a single cell to this at 12 weeks.”
He then held up the model of a 20-week fetus, and told the students that a living fetus at this age has vocal chords, its taste buds are formed, and it can swallow. It can suck its thumb, and “even do somersaults.”
By the time the fetus is 26 weeks old, it can smile and “do things babies do,” he said, noting two weeks later, the fetus has eyelashes.
The 30-week fetus has skin that is pink and smooth, and its pupils react to light.
He then taught the students that “these babies are alive from conception. That’s why the Catholic Church thinks it’s wrong to kill a baby in the womb. It’s a human being, and it’s from God.”
He told the children that “in the world, people are choosing to end babies lives before they are born, but the Bible makes it clear that God knew you before you were born.”
Deanna believes the fetal development models are effective teaching tools because “they are hands on and visuals are great with kids.”
It’s a great way to “show them this is a human life. Then, when they are older, and they may have a tough decision to make, they will choose life. The models show them the humanness and dignity of the unborn child.”
She is hoping that as the students learn that unborn children need to be respected, that they will take that lesson and expand it to include respect for the elderly and the handicapped.