EMAIL #1
To: NRLC Board, State
Affiliates, Staff, Interested Parties
From: Derrick Jones,
Administrative Assistant
Re: Upcoming National
Geographic special
Below, please find the text
of a press release from National Geographic regarding their upcoming
special “In the Womb.” While we haven’t seen the program to know if it
deals directly with the abortion issue or how it treats the subject of
fetal development, we feel it is a program that may be of interest to
all of us the pro-life movement. Please feel free to forward to your
own lists.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL
EXPLORES THE HIDDEN WORLD IN THE
WOMB
From 4-D Ultrasound Imagery to Revolutionary In Utero
Surgery,
Advanced Technology Takes You Into the Womb
(WASHINGTON, D.C. — Feb. 17, 2005)
From
the moment of conception, every human baby has embarked on an incredible
nine month odyssey of development fraught with uncertainty. Now,
cutting-edge technology makes it possible to open a window into the
hidden world of the fetus and explore each trimester in amazing new
detail.
On Sunday, March 6, 2005, at 8 p.m.
ET/ 9 p.m. PT, the National Geographic Channel (NGC) presents
In the Womb, a two-hour special that
uses the latest advances in technology to
take viewers on the
incredible adventure of a developing new fetus.
Using advanced Computer
Generated Imaging (CGI), witness the journey’s beginning, as the
blastocyst (an early embryo) travels down the fallopian tube and
implants itself into the uterine wall. Go inside the uterus as the first
nerve cells are created, and return again a few weeks later to see how
the spinal cord and brain have begun to develop. Then witness the
formation of the heart, first as a dormant clump of cardiac muscle cells
that spontaneously begin to contract. And with revolutionary 3-D and 4-D
ultrasound imagery, view how the fetus continues to grow and develop,
how it behaves, how it reacts to stimulation and how its reflexes help
it prepare for birth and survival outside the womb.
While 2-D black-and-white ultrasound
images have become commonplace, their crude resolution and technical
limitations offer only partial insight into the developing fetus. But
space-age advancements in computer technology permit the creation of 3-D
scans that transform those same shadow images into life-like pictures of
the developing fetus. In the Womb features even more remarkable 4-D
technology that adds the element of time to those 3-D pictures to
produce action sequences of the fetus in real time.
The 4-D images allow us to take an
in-depth look into a mysterious world inside the womb, and chart
unprecedented details throughout the stages of pregnancy. These 4-D
scans show 11 and 12-week-old fetuses kicking and pushing out their legs
in what is known as the stepping reflex.
At 24 weeks, witness a fetus opening
and closing her eyes and sticking out her tongue (no one knows exactly
why), and see her facial expressions that resemble a grimace and a
frown. Then see the fetus respond to involuntary contractions of the
diaphragm as the fetus hiccups.
In the last trimester, the 4-D
images explore the fetus’s ability to hear loud noises and deep tones
through the fluids of the body, and even experience REM sleep.
Viewers can also experience the
world outside the fetus from a belly-eye view when the mother is fitted
with a BUMPCAM. Watch from this vantage point to learn how the fetus
responds to music playing or to nursery rhymes read aloud by its mother.
In the Womb also portrays a rare in
utero operation performed in the hope of correcting life-threatening
complications before birth. At week 26, a fetus is diagnosed with a
congenital diaphragmatic hernia, a rare and potentially fatal defect
that leaves a hole in the diaphragm of the fetus. If left untreated, the
growing abdominal organs will push up through the hole into the chest
cavity and limit the development of the lungs. A newborn usually dies
from this condition a day or two after birth because it cannot breathe
properly.
But through the miracle of science,
a highly skilled surgeon is able to repair the problem by performing
surgery in utero – called a “keyhole surgery.” Watch
the delicate lifesaving operation
firsthand
from inside the womb as a
fetoscope, specially fitted with a
high-definition mini-camera, is inserted
through an incision in the mother’s abdomen.
Using this specially designed camera
to guide him, the doctor inserts the fetoscope through the womb, into
the tiny mouth of the fetus and down the windpipe. Once inside the
windpipe or trachea, see a small balloon inflate at the end of the
fetoscope. Without harming the fetus, since the lungs are not used to
breathe until after birth, the balloon is left to block the hole in the
trachea and force the fetus’s internal organs back down into the
abdomen. Two months later, the balloon is removed and a full term baby
is delivered in the ninth month.
Each year across the world,
approximately 130 million women go through the complex cycle of
pregnancy and birth. Our increasingly sophisticated understanding of the
process has drastically reduced the risks. Taking you from conception to
the moment of birth, In the Womb sheds light on a delicate but dark
place and takes viewers right into the fragile and mysterious world of
fetal development.
In the Womb is produced for the
National Geographic Channel by Pioneer Productions in cooperation with
National Geographic Channel, National Geographic Channel International
and Channel 4. Stuart Carter is the executive producer for Pioneer
Productions. Toby MacDonald is the producer/director/writer of the
program, along with contributor Professor Stuart Campbell and head of
production Kirsty McLure. Special effect sequences were filmed by David
Barlow and CGI effects were created by The Mill. For the National
Geographic Channel, executive producer is Jenny Apostol; executive in
charge of production is John Ford.
# # #
Based at
National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C., the
National Geographic Channel is a joint venture between National
Geographic Television & Film (NGT&F) and Fox Cable Networks. National
Geographic Channel debuted to an initial 10 million homes in January
2001, and has been one of the fastest growing networks in history. The
Channel has carriage with all of the nation's major cable and satellite
television providers, making it currently available to 52 million homes.
For more information, please visit
www.nationalgeographic.com/channel.
EMAIL #2
To: NRLC Board, State
Affiliates, Staff, All Interested Parties
From:
Derrick Jones, Administrative Assistant
Re: National
Geographic “In the Womb” Special
This is a follow-up to an email sent
out 28 February regarding the National Geographic Channel’s (NGC)“In the
Womb” special that originally aired March 6. I wanted to alert you that
NGC will re-air the program Friday March 11, 2005 at 8p EST and again
that night at midnight eastern. NGC airs on cable systems throughout
the country. Please call your local cabal provider to find out what
channel NGC is in your area.
More information, including still
photos and a video preview can be found on the National Geographic
website:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/channel/inthewomb/.
I have heard reports from NRLC staff
who had access to the NGC that the special was remarkable. Many have
inquired about the prospect of purchasing a copy.
Today, I spoke to a representative
in the video department of National Geographic. The special WILL
be offered for sale on video beginning next week (the woman advised that
it would probably be Tuesday or later and that they cannot take orders
until it is officially available). She advised that the purchase price
will be somewhere between the range of $19.95 to $24.95. I have also
heard from another source that the price was set at $19.99. Regardless,
it is affordable.
The number to call for orders is 800.627.5162, however, I suggest not
calling until at least Tuesday, March 15. It will also possibly be
offered for online purchase on the National Geographic website. The
representative also told me of a phone call they received Monday morning
(they received over 1000 phone calls regarding the special) from a woman
who said she was pro-choice until she saw the special and it changed her
viewpoint on the abortion issue.
Please forward this to your lists.
Derrick Jones
National Right to Life
(202) 378-8853 voice
(202) 347-6121 fax
djones@nrlc.org
