It's Alive!

Prenates (unborn babies) are sentient with functioning senses by the end of the first trimester, so says Sir William Lily (pioneering father of fetology) and Dr. Arnold Gesell of Yale (both have passed away and did their groundbreaking work prior to the legalization of abortion in North America). Prenates have an awareness of their surroundings and respond to changes in their surroundings (and just like other children, they appear to like sweets). This is born out by modern observations made possible through the use of ultrasound technology. Amniocentesis performed at about 16 weeks gestation is performed with the use of an ultrasound machine in order to locate the fetus, the intent is to draw amniotic fluid, not harm the developing baby. During these procedures, which are done routinely, it has been observed that the baby will deliberately move away from the needle, even though the needle has not touched it, and if the needle does nick the baby (accidently) the baby will respond by swiping at the barrel of the needle with its fist. These actions demonstrate a clear awareness on the part of the baby to its surroundings and, while reflex may play a part in the baby's defensive action against a nick, the responses cannot be attributed to a simple reflex action. There has been the suggestion that the babies cannot feel pain until much later, despite EEG and ECG recordings and other observations during painful events, due to the later maturation of the cortex. Yet, according to Patton et al, Intro to Basic Neurology, W.B. Saunders Co. 1976, p. 178, the cortex is not an essential component - you can remove the cortex and still feel pain - so long as you have a thalamus which is functioning by eight weeks gestation. There is a difference between organic (physical) pain and psychological pain - they are connected, but it is not necessary to have both components to "feel" pain. For example, if you accidently touch a hot burner on a stove, you will have pulled your hand away before you are cognisant of what has happened. However, if you think back, you will note that you felt the pain first, then the defensive reflex was initiated to pull your hand away from the painful stimulus, then the pain registered in your brain and you became intellectually aware of the pain and then noticed that you had a burn on your hand and then you took action to alleviate that pain by putting your hand under cool running water. The reflex was triggered by the pain and the reaction was completed before it registered, but the pain was felt first and if you really think about it, you will remember that the pain was felt first on a physical level, before being "experienced" on a conscious level. You can remove the conscious level, but you will still feel the pain and it will hurt.Prenates under 30 weeks of age are hypersensitive and so feel pain much more intensely than those with mature brains. Normally, in the womb, there is no need for protective measures that develop later, there should be no safer place for a developing baby. This is born out by our experience with premature babies. Neonates from 22 weeks to 30 weeks are noticably hypersensitive to all stimuli (light, sound, touch) and respond well to measures designed to mute such stimuli, including the use of anaesthetics during invasive procedures. Why does anyone believe that a healthy fetus in the womb is less affected by stimuli than its prematurely born counterpart.
As posted elsewhere on 6/05/2006 2:52 PM