Pain cannot be felt by a foetus, says psychologist
Nic Fleming
Telegraph.co.uk
___________
Foetuses cannot experience pain, a leading psychologist said yesterday.
Dr Stuart Derbyshire, of the University of Birmingham, said that telling women who are considering abortions that their unborn child can feel pain was inaccurate and exposed them to inappropriate and possibly dangerous medical treatment.
Dr Derbyshire carried out a review of evidence for the existence of foetal pain and found that while the necessary biological system required for pain is complete at 26 weeks' gestation, real sensations of pain depend on experiences outside the womb.
The US government is considering laws that would force doctors to tell women seeking an abortion that there is "substantial evidence that the process of being killed in an abortion will cause the unborn child pain".
Doctors who carried out abortions after 22 weeks without painkilling drugs would be fined $100,000 (£57,700) and lose their medical licence.
Dr Derbyshire compared the pain response of an unborn baby to that of a fruit fly larva that reacts to a flame by bending and rolling away, describing it as merely an automatic biological mechanism designed to avoid harmful stimuli.
Apr 14, 2006
Nic Fleming
Telegraph.co.uk
___________
Foetuses cannot experience pain, a leading psychologist said yesterday.
Dr Stuart Derbyshire, of the University of Birmingham, said that telling women who are considering abortions that their unborn child can feel pain was inaccurate and exposed them to inappropriate and possibly dangerous medical treatment.
Dr Derbyshire carried out a review of evidence for the existence of foetal pain and found that while the necessary biological system required for pain is complete at 26 weeks' gestation, real sensations of pain depend on experiences outside the womb.
The US government is considering laws that would force doctors to tell women seeking an abortion that there is "substantial evidence that the process of being killed in an abortion will cause the unborn child pain".
Doctors who carried out abortions after 22 weeks without painkilling drugs would be fined $100,000 (£57,700) and lose their medical licence.
Dr Derbyshire compared the pain response of an unborn baby to that of a fruit fly larva that reacts to a flame by bending and rolling away, describing it as merely an automatic biological mechanism designed to avoid harmful stimuli.
Apr 14, 2006
