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<p>All of Britain was buzzing last week after a tabloid published highly controversial photos &#8212; not of a topless supermodel or two female pop singers kissing or Prince William in a grass skirt but of angelic babies smiling in the womb.</p>

ALL OF BRITAIN was buzzing last week after a tabloid published highly controversial photos — not of a topless supermodel or two female pop singers kissing or Prince William in a grass skirt, but of angelic babies smiling in the womb. The ultrasound images, taken between 26 and 34 weeks after conception, were released by Professor Stuart Campbell and widely circulated on the Internet via the Drudge Report. Campbell’s an obstetrician at the privately run Create Health Centre in London. For the past two years, the medical facility has offered state-of-the-art 3-D/4-D scanning equipment services to expectant parents. Campbell performs...

<p>On Wednesday, the Senate wound up an unnecessarily prolonged debate on a gruesome procedure by formally voting to go to conference on the partial-birth abortion bill by a 93-0 vote.</p> <p>Bills to ban the procedure passed through the Senate by a 64-33 margin in March and through the House by a 282-139 margin in June. Although nearly identical, the two pieces of legislation differed in one important aspect &#8212; the Senate bill contained an amendment sponsored by Sen. Tom Harkin expressing the sense of the Senate that the Roe vs. Wade decision "was appropriate and secures an important constitutional right; and . . . should not be overturned."</p>

September 19, 2003 All of Britain was buzzing last week after a tabloid published highly controversial photos -- not of a topless supermodel or two female pop singers kissing or Prince William in a grass skirt but of angelic babies smiling in the womb. The ultrasound images, taken between 26 and 34 weeks after conception, were released by Professor Stuart Campbell and widely circulated on the Internet via the Drudge Report. Campbell's an obstetrician at the privately run Create Health Centre in London. For the past two years, the medical facility has offered state-of-the-art 3-D/4-D scanning equipment services to expectant...

Images published for the first time yesterday suggesting unborn babies smile, blink and cry months before they leave the womb have renewed calls for abortion to be outlawed. The pictures, published in London, show foetuses at 26 weeks exhibiting facial expressions. The images were captured by state-of-the-art scanning equipment. Anti-abortion groups seized on the revelation, saying the images confirmed what they had argued all along: that a foetus was a human being with human characteristics. The technology, known as a 3-D/4-D ultrasound, also reveals limb movements at eight weeks, leaping, turning and jumping at 11 to 12 weeks, intricate finger...

Images published for the first time seem to show that babies in the womb smile, blink and cry months before delivery. State-of-the-art scanning equipments being used at some clinics and teaching hospitals have offered a view of what appears to be human emotions of babies at six months after conception. Just what the pictures mean is still a matter of debate, some saying that pictures caught of babies smiling such as the one at the right reflect an emotional response while others say it is a simple simple physical reaction, helping prepare the baby for the outside world. Picture and...

The smile of an unborn baby By Nicole Martin (Filed: 13/09/2003) Eyes shut and weighing only 5lb, the unborn child is captured smiling in the comfort of its mother's womb. The three-dimensional image was taken 34 weeks after conception using a new ultrasound scanning machine. Others taken by Prof Stuart Campbell, who pioneered the technique in Britain at the private Create Health Clinic in London, show foetuses blinking, sucking their fingers, scratching their noses, hiccuping and crying. Inner contentment: a baby smiles in the womb The scanner, which can be used as early as the seventh week of pregnancy, gives...

Now, not even the womb is a private place Anne Karpf Saturday September 13, 2003 The Guardian Step aside, Mona Lisa. Your chiaroscuro smile can't compete with that of a 32-week-old baby, captured for the first time on ultrasound. The suggestion of mirth so exquisitely evoked by Leonardo has now been recorded, thanks to 3D and 4D scanning techniques, prenatally. So why do I find these photos of smiling foetuses deeply disquieting? It has nothing to do with the ethical debate, already cranking up, between those who see this as a brilliant technological advance enabling earlier surgical correction of deformities,...

New hi-tech scans show babies smiling and crying before birth James Meikle, health correspondent Saturday September 13, 2003 The Guardian Images published for the first time yesterday seem to suggest that unborn babies can smile, blink and cry weeks before they leave the womb. The pictures of foetuses about 26 weeks after conception have been captured by state-of-the-art scanning equipment now being employed at some clinics and teaching hospitals. Experts can now debate whether this apparent grin reflects an emotional response or is a simple physical reaction, helping prepare baby for the outside world. The smile might appear at 26...

Pioneering scanning techniques have produced astonishing images from inside the womb which show babies apparently smiling and crying. Experts believe the breakthrough could lead to advances in baby health for a whole range of conditions, including Down's Syndrome. The pictures offer a new insight into foetal behaviour. The ultra-sound scanning techniques capture images which show the foetuses yawn, blink, suck their fingers and seem to cry and smile. Up to now, doctors did not think infants made such expressions until after birth and believed they learned to smile by copying their mother. The procedure has been pioneered by London obstetrician...

Pioneering scanning techniques have produced astonishing images from inside the womb which show babies apparently smiling and crying. Experts believe the breakthrough could lead to advances in baby health for a whole range of conditions, including Down's Syndrome. The pictures offer a new insight into foetal behaviour. The ultra-sound scanning techniques capture images which show the foetuses yawn, blink, suck their fingers and seem to cry and smile. Up to now, doctors did not think infants made such expressions until after birth and believed they learned to smile by copying their mother. The procedure has been pioneered by London obstetrician...

It was bound to happen. Now even the womb has succumbed to the marketplace. In Canada, the first entertainment ultrasound business has opened. 4-D ultrasound provides a realistic picture of your baby before it is born. No more blurry images of the traditional ultrasound. The stills and live-action video generated are often clear enough to evaluate subtle facial features and to judge who the baby resembles. 4-D ultrasound was used sparingly for diagnostic purposes in high-risk pregnancies. It hasn't taken long for it to metamorphose into a business opportunity. If nothing else, its promotion is an example of how medicine...

Bringing Good Things to Life New ultrasound technology 20 years in the making could help create a new generation of pro-lifers. By Karla Dial Jim and Ashley Picard are gazing into their daughter’s face for the first time. The round nose she got from him. The pointy chin she inherited from her. Jim is slack-jawed in wonder, and Ashley can’t keep the grin from spreading across her face as they watch their daughter emit a huge yawn, then stick her thumb in her mouth while brushing the umbilical cord away from her face with one hand. The umbilical cord is...

New ultrasound technology 20 years in the making could help create a new generation of pro-lifers. Jim and Ashley Picard are gazing into their daughter’s face for the first time. The round nose she got from him. The pointy chin she inherited from her. Jim is slack-jawed in wonder, and Ashley can’t keep the grin from spreading across her face as they watch their daughter emit a huge yawn, then stick her thumb in her mouth while brushing the umbilical cord away from her face with one hand. The umbilical cord is a bothersome nuisance, and will continue to be...