Expert: Danielle - 11/8/2011

Question
QUESTION: Hi. My question is is abortion painful for the fetus? Some people from the Right To Life Association came to my school the other day, and handed out pamphlets that described various abortion procedures, and even showed pictures. The descriptions were very graphic, and the pictures disturbing and frightening! They showed pictures of babies having their limbs ripped off in the womb! And it was very bloody. And then they showed a video called The Silent Scream, and in it it appeared that the baby was trying to get away from the doctor performing the abortion. They talked about how that baby desperately wanted to live, but wasn't given a choice! And how this could all be avoided by just not having sex until marriage. They also talked about how certain types of birth control also cause abortion, like the morning after pill. I am very confused about this issue, and would like to get the other side. I thought I was in favor of letting the woman decide, but what about the baby's rights? I know some people say that the baby can't feel pain and doesn't know what's happening, but these people said that the baby absolutely could. And I always thought that birth control just prevented pregnancy, but they said it can stop an egg from implanting. Are all these things true? I am in grade nine, and a lot of my classmates were saying that after seeing this presentation their view on abortion totally changed (they are against it now). Thanks.

ANSWER: Hi Kimmy :)

One simple thing to know: the Right to Life movement is based upon shame, misogyny, and lies.

Well, the pictures they use are fake. Their descriptions are wrong.

On the procedure: http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/abortion/in-clinic-abortion-proce

Fetuses can't feel pain for AT LEAST the first 24 weeks: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10403496
"Fifty-eight percent of all abortions for which gestational age was reported were performed at <8 weeks of gestation, and 88% were performed before 13 weeks."-http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5212a1.htm

The Silent Scream? Fake. Any organism on the planet will move away from something trying to touch it-a fetus. Or a cell. It's not moving away from potential pain, it's a biological reaction, a reflex.
http://74.6.117.48/search/srpcache?ei=UTF-8&p=the+silent+scream&fr=crmas&u=http:

Well, should a fetus's rights trump those of the woman sacrificing 10 months of her body to its survival?

And remember- sex after marriage does not protect against unwanted pregnancy or STIs.

One of the possible ways hormonal birth control works is to thin the uterine lining-usually, a body not on HBC will build up that lining for a month, and then shed it during menstruation. HBC tells your body you already ovulated, and there's no need to build up the lining, so it can be thinner, which would make it harder for a fertilized egg to implant. Keep in mind, HBC works by preventing a release of an egg-no egg, no pregnancy. It also thickens the cervical mucous, making it difficult for sperm to reach the egg if a mishap were to happen (shouldn't though). And if the sperm STILL managed to reach the egg, fertilize it, then it's possible it would be unable to implant (pregnancy does not officially begin until that implantation). The vast majority of fertilized eggs? They don't implant in women not taking HBC, they simply are flushed out during menstruation.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi.Thank you for answering my questions. I have a few more if you don't mind. The first one is how come a fetus can not feel pain if it has a heart and brain? My mom was saying that some reputable medical journal published a study that said fetuses don't feel pain, but it was controversial. And one more thing. The lady said that when a girl decides to have sex, she knows that she can get pregnant and is accepting that. That is kind of true right? Why have sex knowing you are not ready to have a baby, but that is a real possibility?  Thanks.

Answer
Always feel free to ask as much as you want! That's what I'm here for :D (and if you ever get one of those "you've asked too many follow up questions" automatic responses, just start anew.

The reason for the controversy is because the anti-choice movement tries to make people falsely believe a fetus can feel pain at any time.

Here's why (quote from the study): "at that age the wiring doesn't exist to send pain signals from nerves around the body to the cortex, the area of the brain where pain is experienced. At which later point such connections form is unknown..."

Because sex, for a lot of people, is for pleasure, be that physical and/or emotional. It can be a bonding experience, it's a way to be intimate with someone. Guys go into it knowing pregnancy is a possibility as well, but they aren't forced into fatherhood. People can take actions to decrease those chances, but whether they do or not isn't any of our business.