BpAndre
Site Admin
Joined: 20 Aug 2005
Posts: 126
Location: Chicago, IL.
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 Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 11:05 pm Post subject: Does the baby feel pain? |
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Does the baby feel pain?
The simple answer is yes! A basic understanding of the developing nervous system is needed to understand why.
Dr. Thomas Sullivan, a pediatric neurologist, says that the equipment that humans use to sense pain includes special pain receptors in nerve endings that connect nerve fibers to transmit signals from the receptor to the spinal cord; neurons within the spinal cord that carry the signal to the brain; the thalamus, which senses the pain; and the cortex, which supplies psychological responses to the pain and also directs a response. All of this complex equipment is in place, says Dr. Sullivan, "perhaps as early as eight weeks, but certainly by thirteen and a half weeks."
Dr. William Matviuw, an obstetrician/gynecologist, says that the nerves that sense pain reach the skin of the fetus by the ninth week of gestation, and that detectable brain activity in response to noxious (harmful or damaging) stimuli occurs between the eighth and tenth week (as noted in Stanislaw Reinis and Jerome M. Goldman, The Development of the Brain, 1980, pp. 223–235. Springfield, Ill., Charles C. Thomas Publishers).
The earliest first term abortions occur at eight weeks, while the majority occur between eight to twelve weeks. Based on the development of the nervous system, babies as young as eight weeks gestational age feel both psychological and physical responses to noxious stimuli, which in this case is abortion.
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Bishop Andre' Jhohn-William Queen, SCR
Vicar General
Catholic Apostolic National Church
Phone: 773.942.4660 |
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