The Col: On the subject of Fetus survival I read...

"At 23 weeks there is a 25% chance of survival, and a 50% chance at 24 weeks, and the numbers increase from there. A baby born this early, however, has only a 12% chance of intact survival, which means that the baby will develop without any problems in the future, and this number also increases each week. At 28 weeks there is a much bigger chance of survival for the baby. I had a baby at 22 weeks and was told that there was nothing they could do for her, and she passed away two hours later. I was told that if she had been born at 23 weeks I would have had the option to try to do everything they could for her to live."

This is a woman speaking btw...

"There have been a couple of 20-21 weeker that have been born and survived, but most hospitals have policies these days which all but eliminate the possibility of life sustaining interventions prior to 23-25 weeks (usually 23 weeks)."

It seems the Doctors say life cannot exist outside the womb until 23 weeks with a reasonable chance of survival.

The baby then, can be independently alive. But ONLY with a great deal of support.