Life-sized model of fetus named after Spanish minister who said unborn babies not human at 13 weeks

Madrid, Spain, Jul 23, 2009 / 11:00 am

A group of Spanish professionals are using life-sized models of a 13 week-old fetus to respond to statements by the country’s Minister of Equality, Bibiana Aido, who said in an interview that fetuses at that stage of development are alive but are not human beings.

The group is offering replicas of the "Aido Baby" through its website www.bebe-aido.com to help raise awareness about the development of the unborn during the first and second trimesters of pregnancy.

"Its real size is 5-6 centimeters and all of its organs have already been formed. It only needs to mature and grow," the group said.

On May 19, Minister of Equality, Bibiana Aido, said that a 13 week-old fetus is alive "but is not a human being, because there is no scientific basis for such a claim."

However, organizers of the campaign said science has demonstrated that "human life begins at conception. Every manual of human embryology states that the zygote is already an unrepeatable human being, unique in its species, a different being from the mother and the father."

In addition, they said, at 12 weeks a fetus has a full-formed head, eyes, arms, legs, hands, feet and heart. "It can feel as its nervous system is well-developed," said Fatima Navarro-Rubio, a spokeswoman for the campaign.

"We have made thousands of ‘Aido Babies’ so that people in Spain can determine with their own hands whether or not the 12 week-old baby that some don’t want to protect is a human being," she added.

The money raised by the campaign will be used to help women in troubled pregnancies.