Seif
16-04-06, 18:09
Fetuses Can't Feel Pain, Expert Says in British Medical Journal
April 14 (Bloomberg) -- Fetuses can't feel pain, according to a commentary by a psychologist in tomorrow's issue of the British Medical Journal, which suggests doctors won't need to sedate an unborn child before conducting an abortion.
The nerve connections necessary for processing pain aren't complete before 26 weeks' gestation, said Stuart Derbyshire, a senior psychologist at the University of Birmingham in England. Using painkillers before that stage is scientifically unsound and may put women at unnecessary risk, he found in a clinical review.
``The absence of pain in the fetus doesn't resolve the morality of abortion, but does argue against legal and clinical efforts to prevent such pain during an abortion,'' Derbyshire said. ``A mandate to provide pain relief before an abortion may expose women to inappropriate interventions, risks and distress.''
Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, according to the International Association for the Study of Pain. It's a conscious experience, not only a response to stimuli.
As pain is subjective, each individual uses the word differently based on his or her experience related to injury earlier in life. The limited neural system of fetuses can't support such cognitive, affective and evaluative experiences, Derbyshire said.
Derbyshire examined neurological and psychological evidence to support a concept of fetal pain, which is the basis for proposed U.S. legislation that requires tranquilizing a fetus of more than 22 weeks before an abortion. Fetuses are capable of responding to pain stimuli, though they don't feel it, he said.
The unborn baby also needs to develop its mind in addition to its brain to accommodate the subjectivity of pain, Derbyshire said. Development of the mind occurs after birth through the infant's actions and interactions with its parents necessary to the development of pain experience, he said.
Bron: Bloomberg.com (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000102&sid=aOWTSLPrlLlc&refer=uk)
April 14 (Bloomberg) -- Fetuses can't feel pain, according to a commentary by a psychologist in tomorrow's issue of the British Medical Journal, which suggests doctors won't need to sedate an unborn child before conducting an abortion.
The nerve connections necessary for processing pain aren't complete before 26 weeks' gestation, said Stuart Derbyshire, a senior psychologist at the University of Birmingham in England. Using painkillers before that stage is scientifically unsound and may put women at unnecessary risk, he found in a clinical review.
``The absence of pain in the fetus doesn't resolve the morality of abortion, but does argue against legal and clinical efforts to prevent such pain during an abortion,'' Derbyshire said. ``A mandate to provide pain relief before an abortion may expose women to inappropriate interventions, risks and distress.''
Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, according to the International Association for the Study of Pain. It's a conscious experience, not only a response to stimuli.
As pain is subjective, each individual uses the word differently based on his or her experience related to injury earlier in life. The limited neural system of fetuses can't support such cognitive, affective and evaluative experiences, Derbyshire said.
Derbyshire examined neurological and psychological evidence to support a concept of fetal pain, which is the basis for proposed U.S. legislation that requires tranquilizing a fetus of more than 22 weeks before an abortion. Fetuses are capable of responding to pain stimuli, though they don't feel it, he said.
The unborn baby also needs to develop its mind in addition to its brain to accommodate the subjectivity of pain, Derbyshire said. Development of the mind occurs after birth through the infant's actions and interactions with its parents necessary to the development of pain experience, he said.
Bron: Bloomberg.com (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000102&sid=aOWTSLPrlLlc&refer=uk)