I previously posted a short essay here, in response to the Oct.
5 and 20 Briefings, on the fetal pain bill, on the complex nature and neural basis of pain,
on the development of pain-capability in the fetus, and on current scientific
and medical opinion on the capability of the fetus to feel pain. I am not
satisfied with everything I wrote there, and no longer feel well-informed
enough to express a firm opinion on all these matters, so I have deleted the post.
Here are a few excerpts that I do feel confident of:
ThePain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act does not dispute the anatomical fact that the cerebral cortex is not connected at 20 weeks post-fertilization, so in effect it is claiming that the cortex is not necessary for the fetus to consciously experience pain.
Points (2) and (3) of the bill are misleading. Point (2) states, “After 20 weeks, the unborn child reacts to stimuli that would be recognized as painful if applied to an adult human, for example, by recoiling.” But such reactions can be produced by reflexes without conscious awareness. In the next point, the bill says “In the unborn child, application of such painful stimuli is associated with significant increases in stress hormones....” Firstly, it has not been shown that these ARE painful stimuli, only that they would be if applied to an adult with an intact nervous system. Secondly, stress hormones can be and are triggered without conscious awareness. Pain requires conscious awareness.
Point eight of the bill is factually false. It says, “In adult humans and in animals, stimulation or ablation of the cerebral cortex does not alter pain perception....” On the contrary, there is strong evidence from multiple sources that the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), an area of the cerebral cortex and part of the limbic system, contributes to the affective component of pain, that is, to suffering. It has been called “a critical brain region that is part of the neuromatrix involved in pain processing.” Operations removing or disconnecting it have been successfully used to relieve pain in terminal cancer patients among others. In rats, after lesion of the ACC, rats ceased exhibiting escape/avoidance behavior in response to what had been a painful stimulus. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4017137/
We are complex beings. Our behaviors are complex and have multiple sources, some conscious, some unconscious. Even feelings as seemingly elementary as pain are complex. They consist of many aspects, which depend in complex ways on many parts of our bodies. Those parts emerge and develop gradually over time in the womb, as do the capabilities they support.
ThePain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act does not dispute the anatomical fact that the cerebral cortex is not connected at 20 weeks post-fertilization, so in effect it is claiming that the cortex is not necessary for the fetus to consciously experience pain.
Points (2) and (3) of the bill are misleading. Point (2) states, “After 20 weeks, the unborn child reacts to stimuli that would be recognized as painful if applied to an adult human, for example, by recoiling.” But such reactions can be produced by reflexes without conscious awareness. In the next point, the bill says “In the unborn child, application of such painful stimuli is associated with significant increases in stress hormones....” Firstly, it has not been shown that these ARE painful stimuli, only that they would be if applied to an adult with an intact nervous system. Secondly, stress hormones can be and are triggered without conscious awareness. Pain requires conscious awareness.
Point eight of the bill is factually false. It says, “In adult humans and in animals, stimulation or ablation of the cerebral cortex does not alter pain perception....” On the contrary, there is strong evidence from multiple sources that the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), an area of the cerebral cortex and part of the limbic system, contributes to the affective component of pain, that is, to suffering. It has been called “a critical brain region that is part of the neuromatrix involved in pain processing.” Operations removing or disconnecting it have been successfully used to relieve pain in terminal cancer patients among others. In rats, after lesion of the ACC, rats ceased exhibiting escape/avoidance behavior in response to what had been a painful stimulus. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4017137/
We are complex beings. Our behaviors are complex and have multiple sources, some conscious, some unconscious. Even feelings as seemingly elementary as pain are complex. They consist of many aspects, which depend in complex ways on many parts of our bodies. Those parts emerge and develop gradually over time in the womb, as do the capabilities they support.
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