{"id":163289,"date":"2017-04-29T09:34:40","date_gmt":"2017-04-29T13:34:40","guid":{"rendered":"\/news\/?p=163289"},"modified":"2017-04-25T16:47:59","modified_gmt":"2017-04-25T20:47:59","slug":"is-question-when-preborn-child-feels-pain-right-question-ask","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/is-question-when-preborn-child-feels-pain-right-question-ask\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the question of when a preborn child feels pain the right question to ask?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

In the abortion debate, fetal pain is controversial and complicated. When does the developing fetus actually feel or respond to pain? How do we know when actions are responsive rather than reflexive? How do we measure response: by movement\/withdrawal from a noxious stimulant, or by\u00a0measured endocrine\/hormonal responses to stress?<\/p>\n

Is it even possible to answer these questions definitively, since pain is subjective and has been described as \u201can emotional and psychological experience that requires conscious recognition of a noxious stimulus<\/a>\u201d?<\/p>\n

Are these even the right questions to ask?<\/p>\n

Short science lesson: The human brain is an extremely complex human organ. Neurons are the specialized cells that transmit nerve impulses. In order to pass the impulse from one neuron to another, neurons have dendrites <\/em>which extend out from the cell body. Dendrites receive the impulse and carry it to the cell body. Neurons also have arms that extend out from the cell body called axons,<\/em> which transmit the impulses away from the neurons to other neurons or tissues. They communicate with one another over junctions called synapses. It has been estimated that 86 billion neurons<\/a>, along with innumerable synapses, dendrites, axons and support cells make up the human brain. These processes are far too complex to review in detail as volumes of journal articles and texts have been written in an attempt to describe the intricacies and complexities of the nervous system.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

From the moment of fertilization, the genetic blueprint contained within the new human being’s DNA is set in motion and development proceeds rapidly. Evidence of human brain and spinal cord development have been noted as early as the third week after\u00a0fertilization.\u00a0The neural groove is first seen at approximately day 20-21 post-fertilization.\u00a0Then by the sixth week, reflex responses to touch have been noted.1<\/sup><\/p>\n

According to a study published in the\u00a0US National Library of Medicine<\/a>, \u201cIn the first trimester, fetal movements grow rapidly in frequency and complexity. If around seven weeks of pregnancy only gross movements are visible;\u00a0at the end of the first trimester<\/a> the fetus presents complex movements of the head, limbs and fingers.\u201d Much of the preborn child’s\u00a0neuronal development<\/a> occurs between 8 and 18 weeks.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/sup><\/p>\n

According to a 2005 report in the Journal of the American Medical Association, \u201c[\u2026] tests of cortical function suggest that conscious perception of pain<\/a> does not begin before the third trimester.\u201d And in March 2010, the UK’s Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (RCOG) issued a report which\u00a0concluded, \u201cThe lack of cortical connections before 24 weeks… implies that pain is not possible until after 24 weeks. Even after 24 weeks, there is continuing development and elaboration of\u00a0intra-cortical networks<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the other hand, human fetal endocrine responses<\/a> to stress have been demonstrated from as early as 18 weeks gestation. Though we have seen tremendous advances in neuroimaging (4D ultrasound, electroencephalography, magnetoencephalography, functional magnetic resonance imaging, etc.), most of the studies regarding fetal pain involve the second trimester. However, one recently published study suggests that preborn children may feel pain\u00a0as early as\u00a0the first trimester,<\/a>\u00a0because they have been found to have “‘adult-like’ patterns of nerves.” And, as Live Action News’ Rebecca Downs noted<\/a> in 2015, other research has shown\u00a0that pain experienced by the preborn child may actually be more intense<\/em> than the pain experienced by a\u00a0full-term child:<\/p>\n

Preborn children also have an \u201cearly fetal response to painful stimuli,\u201d researchers say. These can be detected roughly five weeks after fertilization.\u00a0And, not only can preborn children feel pain, they may feel it more <\/em>intensely. In 2004, Dr. Kanwalijeet \u201cSunny\u201d Anand testified the following before Congress:<\/p>\n

\u201cMechanisms that inhibit or moderate the experience of pain do not begin to develop until 32 to 34 weeks post-fertilization,\u201d\u00a0Anand said. \u201cAny pain the unborn child experiences before these pain inhibitors are in place is likely more intense than the pain an older infant or adult experiences when subjected to similar types of injury.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Based on a review of literature and evidence thus far, we can at least infer that the fetus may experience pain between 18-24 weeks gestation. Elective abortions are, of course, performed on preborn children at this gestational age, as noted by the Planned Parenthood abortionist featured in the most recent video from the Center for Medical Progress<\/a>, who stated that her late-term abortions were mainly elective, and admitted she had to “hit the gym” to have enough upper body strength required to perform dismemberment abortions on babies at this stage of development. Watch former abortionist Dr. Anthony Levatino explain the process of a D&E dismemberment abortion in the video below:<\/p>\n