Can a embryo or fetus feel pain?
Part 1: Statements by various experts |
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A fetus will "withdraw from painful stimulation"
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Two types of stress hormones which are detected in adults who are feeling pain are also
found in a fetus from when a blood sample is withdrawn. He quotes:
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Year 2000: Commission of Inquiry into Fetal Sentience:
The House of Lords in Britain conducted an inquiry into "fetal sentience." 6 One part of the study dealt with the ability of a fetus to feel pain. Conventional wisdom among researchers is that the brain's cortex is the only location where pain can be felt. However, they mention recent evidence that if an adult suffers from an injury or disease which causes the cortex to function poorly, that some sensation may be felt from an area lower in the brain. They speculate that a fetus may be able to sense some "form of pain sensation or suffering" before the cortex is linked to the lower levels of the brain. They note that babies who are born with a major brain defect can sometimes feel pain. This includes babies born with hydranencephaly in which:
"... the cerebral hemispheres are substantially or entirely absent at birth" and
anencephaly, in which:
"the cerebral hemispheres and the top of the skull may be absent."
They concluded:
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"After 23 weeks of growth, higher areas of the brain are active and starting to
form connections with nerves that will convey pain signals to the cortex."
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"By 24 weeks after conception the brain is sufficiently developed to process
signals received via the thalamus in the cortex."
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"While the capacity for an experience of pain comparable to that in a newborn baby is certainly present by 24 weeks after conception, there are conflicting views about the sensations experienced in the earlier stages of development. The current scientific understanding is that 6 weeks after conception the elements of the nervous system start to function. Most scientists currently agree that this marks the earliest possible point at which sensation might occur."7 |
Year 2000: A statement by Dr. Vivette Glover:
Professor Glover of Queen Charlotte and Chelsea hospitals in London, UK, believes that there is a possibility that a fetus aged 18 weeks can feel pain. On 2000-AUG, she recommended that late pregnancy terminations be done under anesthetic. She suspects that the fetus would not respond to sensations in the same way as newborns. It is unlikely to produce the feelings of anxiety that adults experience. 8

This topic is continued in the next essay.
References used:
The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.
- Ohio Right to Life has a copy of a letter to President Reagan at: http://www.ohiolife.org/arterly, XLV11 no 2, 1996-NOV, Page 6. Reprinted at: http://homepage.interaccess.com/
- George Runner, (R-Lancaster) California Assembly bill AB 1758, introduced on 1998-MAY-5.
- Carolyn C. Gargaro's home page has an essay: "Does the Fetus Feel Pain?" at: http://www.gargaro.com/
- Paul Ranalli, "Abortion and the Unborn Baby: The Painful Truth," is available on the California Pro-Life Council home page at: http://www.californiaprolife.org/
- N.M. Fisk et al, "Fetal plasma cortisol and beta-endorphin response to intrauterine needling." The Lancet 344, 77-81 (1994)
- "The Problem of Pain: A Report by the Commission of Inquiry into Fetal Sentience" at: http://www.care.org.uk/
- "The Timing And Development Of Mechanisms For Pain Reception: A Report by the Commission of Inquiry into Fetal Sentience" at: http://www.care.org.uk/
- Kelley O. Beaucar, "Fetal study adds fuel to late-term abortion debate," Fox News, 2001-AUG-31, at: http://foxnews.com/
Home page > "Hot" topics > Abortion > Basic facts > Fetal pain > here |
Copyright © 1999 to 2015 by Ontario
Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2015-OCT-18
Author: B.A. Robinson

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