Newborn born at 21 weeks changes age of potential viability
World’s Most Premature Baby Turns 1 Year Old
Nash Keen turned 1 year old on July 5th. He holds the Guinness World Record as the most premature baby to survive—born at just 21 weeks gestation. His first birthday is more than a personal milestone; it’s a testament to scientific advancement and a beacon of hope for families facing complex medical diagnoses.
For Randall and Mollie Keen, Nash’s survival was nothing short of a miracle. They had previously lost their daughter, McKinley, at 18 weeks due to an “incompetent uterus.” The grief of that loss made Nash’s birth and survival all the more profound—proof not only of medical possibility, but of the undeniable humanity of children in the womb.
Viability Does Not Determine Worth
Yet despite such stories, abortion remains widely defended. Every abortion starves, suctions, poisons, or dismembers a unique, unrepeatable human being to death. Though abortion is never justifiable, many continue to rationalize it—often by appealing to viability. The argument goes: abortion is acceptable before a baby can survive outside the womb.
But Nash Keen’s story shatters that logic. Viability is not a fixed line—it shifts with medical progress. If Nash was viable at 21 weeks, then how can we justify ending the life of a child at 22, 23, or even 24 weeks? And if a child's worth depends on technology, rather than their humanity, we have lost the foundation of equal human dignity.
Nash Keen reminds us: viability isn’t the measure of worth—being human is.
96% of biologists agree that human life begins at fertilization.
That means every human being deserves protection starting at fertilization.
Human equality must be grounded in something we all share in common: our humanity. Viability—or any other arbitrary standard—cannot be the basis of human rights. When we draw lines based on ability, development, or dependence, we open the door to discrimination.
True justice begins when we protect the smallest and most vulnerable among us—starting from the very beginning.
