Does a fetus feel pain before 24 weeks of gestation?

reply to post by FearNoEvil


I agree with you about the fathers. I grieve for them because they have no say at all. Planned Parenthood has effectively castrated the American male.

reply to post by Blanca Rose


That article is a load of BULL#! period...I urge you to look up a video on youtube...I don't know how to attach it here...but its called "The Silent Scream" its a video from the 70s. Its a video of when ultrasound was first used for pregnancy and for the first time ever we were able to see what exactly occurs as a "BABY" is aborted at 8weeks ...8 weeks...not 24..but 8. You will see the baby pull away in fright from the apparatus (didn't look very unaware to me) and then begins to scream out as its pulled apart. Hence the term "silent scream" because the baby is screaming in pain..but it can't be heard because its in the womb. 24 weeks my ass! watch the video. Before the video I was always one of those people who sat on the fence with the thought process of "I would never have an abortion, but I don't feel I have the right to tell someone else not to." after watching that video? I can understand how someone would want to get rid of abortion clinics..its barbaric, its disgusting. I realize there are medical reasons that someone may need to have one done, but with technology we have today? those reasons amount to 2% of all abortions in the USA. Rape and incest account for 3% (and with the morning after pill, 3% is really not needed) The rest are attributed to "accidental pregnancies" basically someone just didn't want to take the time out to swallow a pill or wear a condom. With all the contraceptives we have out there today, "accidental" shouldn't even occur.

www.guttmacher.org...
www.youtube.com...

reply to post by Blanca Rose


They do neither at 24 weeks old. They have to on a ventilator because their lungs arent developed...at all, and doesnt have the suck relex until 30-32 weeks. But they still feel pain.

reply to post by Blanca Rose


My daughter has no problems, thankfully. She has one scar, about an inch long under her left breast. She's perfect from head to toe. Shes extremely intelligent, quick witted, loving, compassionate and one of my greatest joys. That being said, she's so obstinate it's ridiculous. Like I said, I could choke her ass out sometimes but how can I fault her? That stubborness is what got her thru as far as I'm concerned. Yeah, she's pretty freakin' awesome..

[edit on 6/26/10 by Demetre]

Originally posted by SquirrelNutz
Do you remember *being* a fetus?

In all honesty, that was pretty lame. Many folks out there don't recall being a year old, does that mean we can abuse children at that age because they can't "remember"?

I'm neither for nor against abortion. By that I mean it has no affect on me what so ever. All I hope is that if a child is "alive" inside the womb, that it be kept alive and given a chance. (With regards to the bearers safety.)

We live in a use and throw away society. Like a friend of mine. His girlfriend wanted a child sooo badly, it was "in" to be pregnant in her friend circle. She finally got pregnant. Shortly after, she got a wake up call about the real side of things regarding watching over another human being. She aborted it.

The above story makes me hate people, and is a perfect example of the whole "use and toss" mentality we're in. One second, we're all for it but the next we're against it. Might work fine when we're discussing clothes or wallpaper, but not a potential living being.

Now, if this girl was raped, I would understand her choice. But it was just uncalled for and showed a serious immaturity. Maybe it was best she didn't become a mother?

My thoughts and opinions of course.

Peace,
FK

Originally posted by Blanca Rose

Originally posted by SquirrelNutz

Completely irrelevant.

The topic is about whether or not a fetus can feel pain before 24 weeks of gestation, while showing the survivor being born at 23 weeks.

Killing other life forms while existing outside of the womb, is another topic for a thread you might want to create.

How does it living in or outside of the womb have any bearing on whether you have the right to kill someone YOU helped put there, planned or unplanned, we are all adults knowing the ramifications of our own actions.

I know drunk drivers that didn't plan on getting in an accident, but after they do, it is there responsibility. I would think it would be a far better conscious choice to keep the baby for the short 9 months of your life and have adoption rescue it from the otherwise guaranteed fate of death. Seems kind of harsh for someone so innocent and not their fault it is inside you apparently, "trespassing" with your attitude

[edit on 26-6-2010 by Prosecutor]

[edit on 26-6-2010 by Prosecutor]

Babies have been born at 22 weeks and have survived......it was clear that when they came out of the womb that yes..they felt pain. Its simple..abortion is murder.

Honestly, I am pro-choice if the reason is valid. Wanting to have a baby and then "realizing" after the fact that you won't be able to handle it is a bullsh*t excuse and they should be hanged for that one. Otherwise....

reply to post by FearNoEvil


That line was more to women I don't know.

If it involved a child that was actually mine I would definately be vocal about it.

Originally posted by Frontkjemper

We live in a use and throw away society. Like a friend of mine. His girlfriend wanted a child sooo badly, it was "in" to be pregnant in her friend circle. She finally got pregnant. Shortly after, she got a wake up call about the real side of things regarding watching over another human being. She aborted it.

This post actually made me cry. Thank you so much for providing it. So sad, for the mother and the child. Both lost out. But, did her fetus feel pain? How far along was she?

The above story makes me hate people, and is a perfect example of the whole "use and toss" mentality we're in. One second, we're all for it but the next we're against it. Might work fine when we're discussing clothes or wallpaper, but not a potential living being

So very sadly true.

Now, if this girl was raped, I would understand her choice. But it was just uncalled for and showed a serious immaturity. Maybe it was best she didn't become a mother?

My thoughts and opinions of course.

Peace,
FK

Thanks for your thoughts..............much a appreciated, and needed to be seen.

The youngest baby to survive premature birth was 21 wks.

I hate the whole I can't take care of another human being side of things.

I took care of my nephew when he was 3 months old and my other nephew at the same time was older so he could handle things somewhat. But it was still tough.

Granted my sister still spent alot of time with them, but pretty much every day when she went to work I had to watch them. Didn't get to leave until well after they went to bed.

Sad to say, but now that I'm not doing it anymore I miss it alot. It's kindof a shock at first because infants are pretty delicate. They can't tell you what's wrong, you almost have to know them well to understand what's wrong.

I was a 19 year old male(freshly turned ) who had to do it, and I'll say it made me appreciate things on a different level.



[edit on 26-6-2010 by Judohawk]

This thread reflects a more empathetic and altruistic approach than I've seen in a long time, and more consensus, as well.

That word has nearly become obselete.

Thanks so much for the reasonable and civil approach, and for all that you have all shared. I really am better off for having read this!

*feeling encouraged*

Thanks so much to all who have given resonable replies, to the question at hand, who have read, and seen many different points of veiw, that could be considered evidence, on a heart wrenching topic.

My apolgies to anybody, who has ever had to really contemplate what a fetus feels, when making a rough descision.

The issue of pain circumvents the fundamental inailenable right to life.
The right to life is the font from which all other rights spring from.

Pain, well the surviving mother must bear the pain of her accomplice to murder, and must carry that the remainder of her life.

Pain, what does it concern one when an even more pristine issue is at stake here.

I'm reluctant to comment in these kinds of threads because they are so emotionally charged and people take great offence if you say something against one of their major beliefs. Anyhow...

I do not believe abortion is murder. How can you murder something that has not been born? I'm not exactly pro-abortion and do not think it should be used as justification to have unsafe sex. It's also not a valid solution to avoiding an unwanted pregnancy.

If you want to argue that the foetus is a living being with the right not to be terminated, then what do you say about sperm and eggs? Aren't we technically killing life every time we masturbate or have sex using contraceptives?

In relation to the topic: I don't think a foetus can feel pain because that entity does not have the self-awareness and or sensations to feel pain. This is not comparable to a fully-developed adult that has been drugged and is then harmed. I get annoyed when people try equate a foetus with these kinds of situations.

[edit on 27/6/2010 by Dark Ghost]

couple things here.
everyone develops at a different rate, some could feel pain far before 24 weeks, some well after, and some never at all.
and to the pro choicers, who say its a womans right to do waht she wants with ehr won body, great, i agree, but only if you ask teh fetus if it wishes to be aborted first, becasue at some point, taht fetus is no longer patr of her body.
and to the pro lifers, some people should jsut never be born.
all in all, theres no right answer, but i firmly believe, if you get an abortion, its the same thing as commiting a murder.

Wrong....the fetus IS part of the woman's body. It is INSIDE her. It is ATTACHED to her. Sure, it may just be floating around inside her abdomen, but it is attached for dear life via the umbilical cord. To say that the fetus isn't part of her is like saying your intestines aren't a part of you. It doesn't make any damned sense.

And you know...arguing abortion is just like arguing semantics and politics. Neither of which I like to participate because there are too many variables and not everyone will see eye to eye.

In the end you will get nowhere, because there will always always always be opposing views.

[edit on 27-6-2010 by tsi1991awd]

I wasn't going to touch this one with a ten foot pole.. but since we are on the issue of development and pain, I'll take medical studies with a grain of salt.

My sister had her baby at 22 1/2 weeks. I was at the NICU the night she was delivered. I saw the baby's movement when they were trying to get another line in. And from what I was told by the NICU nurse, these babies at that week do feel pain.

When I was pregnant, my child moved vigorously whenever she heard her father speaking in the 5th - 9th month. And when she was born she immediately knew him and looked at him recalling his voice.

That said, you should always do what is right for you, as you are the one that must live your life.

Personally, I couldn't comprehend killing a life at 2 hours let alone 24 weeks.

As an athiest, I believe life is such a rare event, and each individual only ever gets one chance at life so therefore we should value all life. I personally believe this to be a stronger justification for no abortions than the religious argument, as religious people tend to treat earth as a stepping stone to heaven, and an abortion would take the "soul" to heaven immediately. No big deal right?

A t-shirt I saw was quite a brilliant idea:

"Abort all babies before they have the chance to sin!"

This shows the illogical nature of religion.