{"id":159934,"date":"2017-01-21T13:32:42","date_gmt":"2017-01-21T18:32:42","guid":{"rendered":"\/news\/?p=159934"},"modified":"2017-01-19T15:01:49","modified_gmt":"2017-01-19T20:01:49","slug":"what-science-says-about-fetal-pain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/what-science-says-about-fetal-pain\/","title":{"rendered":"What does science say about fetal pain?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><p>In <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usnews.com\/news\/articles\/2015\/01\/19\/fight-over-20-week-abortion-ban-shapes-up-in-congress\">2013<\/a>, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks, due to fact that science shows a baby of that gestational age would experience very real pain. Unfortunately, the bill\u00a0never made it through the Senate, and\u00a0continues to be delayed\u00a0today. Some expect\u00a0Congress to attempt to deal with this issue in the near future once again, but in the meantime, we should examine the\u00a0evidence from both doctors and scientists that points to how early a preborn baby\u00a0could feel pain.<\/p>\n<p>Within 20 weeks of fertilization, pain receptors and nerves connecting these receptors to the brain are already developed. After only eight weeks, babies are shown to respond to touch, and after 20 weeks, they will actually recoil from painful stimuli. When experiencing pain, the baby will produce more stress hormones as well, showing that this sensation is real to them.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-160659\" src=\"\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/20-weeks.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"651\" height=\"475\" srcset=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/20-weeks.jpg 651w, https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/20-weeks-300x219.jpg 300w, https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/20-weeks-500x365.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 651px) 100vw, 651px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.doctorsonfetalpain.com\/\">Doctors on Fetal Pain<\/a>, because fetal pain is already understood, \u201cfetal anesthesia is routinely administered&#8221; when a baby needs surgery while still in the womb, &#8220;and is associated with a decrease in stress hormones compared to their level when painful stimuli are applied without such anesthesia.\u201d At this point, even though the baby is still developing in the womb, there is evidence that these stresses (including pain due to attempted abortions) could have negative long-term consequences resulting in neurodevelopmental issues, as well as emotional, behavioral, and learning issues throughout the child\u2019s life.<\/p>\n<p>From a scientific standpoint, Dr. David Fu-Chi Mark, a \u201ccelebrated molecular biologist,\u201d <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dakotavoice.com\/Docs\">speaks of<\/a> the advances and important findings of molecular biology, especially over the last few decades, that specifically relate to \u201chuman development prior to birth&#8230; observ[ing] that\u201d&#8230;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8230; until the development of molecular biology and modern molecular biological techniques, \u2018most scientific knowledge concerning human identity and human development prior to birth was based solely upon gross morphological observations and biochemical studies&#8230; there have been extraordinary scientific, medical and technological advances and discoveries which expose the rather rudimentary level of knowledge and ignorance of science, errors of fact and judgment concerning past scientific understanding of the child&#8217;s existence as a human being, the child&#8217;s early development and ability to react to the child&#8217;s environment and feel pain prior to birth.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>(For a fuller report on these findings, please <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dakotavoice.com\/Docs\/South%20Dakota%20Abortion%20Task%20Force%20Report.pdf\">click here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/liveaction.org\/petition\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-160409\" src=\"\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/DefundAd-400b-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"170\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aul.org\/2008\/03\/fetal-pain-legislation-women-deserve-to-know\/\">Americans United for Life<\/a> also speaks to recent advancements in science and acknowledges, \u201c[T]hat a fetus can feel pain is an accepted medical fact. However, the question of <em>when<\/em> a fetus can experience pain has been the subject of some debate over the last two decades.\u201d While studies continue to emerge with new data, it is believed that fetal pain <em>could<\/em> be felt as early as 5.5 to 13 weeks. This issue is usually not brought to a woman\u2019s attention when she is seeking an abortion. Women are often told that their babies are just pieces of formless tissue that cannot feel anything &#8212; meaning, some women truly do not understand what they are allowing to happen to their babies through abortion procedures. They are kept in the dark by lies about fetal pain and fetal development in an attempt to justify what would constitute as torture if these things were done to an adult.<\/p>\n<p>AUL <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aul.org\/2008\/03\/fetal-pain-legislation-women-deserve-to-know\/\">writes<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Medical information on the fetal neurological development and a fetus\u2019 consequent ability to feel pain is a concern of women considering abortion, and providing this information is necessary for a woman to make a fully-informed choice on whether or not to obtain an abortion. Women have the right to all available medical information regarding fetal development, and a right to know the consequences of their abortion decision \u2014 specifically, that abortion may cause fetal pain&#8230;to protect women\u2019s rights, facilitate informed consent, and to further state interests in the well-being of women and developing human life, legislators should work to introduce and enact legislation on fetal pain awareness and prevention.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Hopefully we will soon see laws being passed that would not only prohibit later abortions due to pain, but <em>protect<\/em> a baby&#8217;s life at all stages of development.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 2013, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks, due to fact that science shows a baby of that gestational age would experience very real pain. Unfortunately, the bill\u00a0never made it through the Senate, and\u00a0continues to be delayed\u00a0today. Some expect\u00a0Congress to attempt to deal with this issue [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":482,"featured_media":71492,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What does science say about fetal pain?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"While studies continue to emerge, it is believed fetal pain can be felt as early as 5.5 to 13 weeks. This is not typically told to a woman seeking abortion.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/what-science-says-about-fetal-pain\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What does science say about fetal pain?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"While studies continue to emerge, it is believed fetal pain can be felt as early as 5.5 to 13 weeks. This is not typically told to a woman seeking abortion.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/what-science-says-about-fetal-pain\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Live Action News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-01-21T18:32:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-01-19T20:01:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/unborn-human-fetus-e1516827452677.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"650\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"360\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alyson DaCosta\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@liveaction\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@liveaction\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alyson DaCosta\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/what-science-says-about-fetal-pain\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/what-science-says-about-fetal-pain\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Alyson DaCosta\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/27dd3428036a6fc7c27b86b6ae6dde7d\"},\"headline\":\"What does science say about fetal pain?\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-01-21T18:32:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-01-19T20:01:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/what-science-says-about-fetal-pain\/\"},\"wordCount\":685,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Issues\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/what-science-says-about-fetal-pain\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/what-science-says-about-fetal-pain\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/what-science-says-about-fetal-pain\/\",\"name\":\"What does science say about fetal pain?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-01-21T18:32:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-01-19T20:01:49+00:00\",\"description\":\"While studies continue to emerge, it is believed fetal pain can be felt as early as 5.5 to 13 weeks. 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