Amazing Image of Unborn Baby at 18 Weeks is Called the Photograph of the Century

MICAIAH BILGER NOV 18, 2019 | 3:54PM WASHINGTON, DC

The image of an 18-week unborn baby from Life magazine’s stunning 1965 photo-spread is being hailed as the photograph of the century.

The description comes as a surprise from The Guardian, a left-wing British publication that supports abortion on demand. Its article celebrating the photograph tried to make excuses for abortion even as the images openly displayed the inherent humanity of babies in the womb.

The celebrated photograph was taken by Swedish photojournalist Lennart Nilsson and published in the April 1965 edition of Life under the title “Drama of Life Before Birth.” That issue became the “fastest-selling copy” of the magazine in the history of its publication, according to the report.

“In full colour and crystal clear detail, the picture showed a foetus in its amniotic sac, with its umbilical cord winding off to the placenta. The unborn child, floating in a seemingly cosmic backdrop, appears vulnerable yet serene. Its eyes are closed and its tiny, perfectly formed fists are clutched to its chest,” the report described.

The photo is one of several showing unborn babies in the famous magazine layout. They were published at a time when the abortion debate was beginning to boil and ultrasound technology was still extremely limited.

Most of the babies who Nilsson photographed had been miscarried or aborted. According to the report: “Nilsson was only able to photograph one living foetus, though, using an endoscopic camera that travelled into a womb. This picture was included in Life and is distinct from the others – being taken inside the uterus means it can’t capture the foetus in its entirety.”

His photos captured the humanity of unborn babies in amazing detail, in both black and white and color. Another photo of a 20-week unborn baby shows vivid details of the baby’s face, including the tiny veins in his/her eyelids and feathery hair growing across the forehead. Another photo of a 13-week unborn baby shows the amniotic sac and placenta surrounding a tiny baby with already distinguishable fingers and toes, eyes, ears and ribs.

The celebrated photographer died in 2017 at age 94. According to the report, he began limiting the use of his photos after seeing one of his images on a pro-life poster in the 1980s because he did not want them to be political.

Recently, however, the Paris Photo art fair began displaying Nilsson’s famous photos again, and other venues in Europe may follow, according to the report.

“The images caused a stir in Paris and it’s easy to see why: their quiet beauty has a powerful emotional pull,” the report described.

Though The Guardian still tried to justify abortion, its commentary seemed so hypocritical when juxtaposed with the photos of babies in the womb. Nilsson may not have wanted his photos to be political, but they became so because of the abortion industry’s attempts to deny the humanity of the unborn. His photos left an immense legacy because they show the powerful truth: Unborn babies are unique, living, valuable human beings, and the pro-life movement is on the side of science and truth.