| Abortion Videos YouTube is full of graphic anti abortion videos, designed to shock women and convince them that abortion is murder. But just how accurate are these videos? Let's look at most famous one "The Silent Scream" In the film, narrated by Dr Bernard Nathanson it is claimed that the fetus can feel pain at 12 weeks and that it makes purposeful movements. The fact is, any fetal movement at that stage is reflex and the brain/nervous system is not developed enough to enable the fetus to feel pain. Experts have found that newborns at 26-27 weeks gestation (24-25 weeks fetal age) who survive have significantly less response to pain than do full term newborns. Read more: http://www.plannedparenthood.org/issues-action/abortion/anti-choice-activity/reports/facts-speak-louder-than-silent-scream-6136.htm Fetal Pain Although a fetus may show some response to a noxious stimulus, this is a reflex response at least until 26 weeks gestation, as nerve fibres responsible for pain do not begin to reach higher brain areas until 26 to 34 weeks gestation. Source: Medical Practitioners Board of Victoria: http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/ahs/archive/report/report3.htm More on fetal pain: The Journal of the American Medical Association: http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/294/8/947 On one pro life site it is claimed that: "the cortex isn’t needed to feel pain. The thalamus is needed and is functioning at 8 weeks. Even complete removal of the cortex does not eliminate the sensation of pain. "Indeed there seems to be little evidence that pain information reaches the sensory cortex." http://www.abortionfacts.com/online_books/love_them_both/why_cant_we_love_them_both_14.asp What the thalamus does is act as a sorting and switching station located deep inside the brain. The thalamus quickly forwards the pain message simultaneously to three specialized regions of the brain: the physical sensation region (somatosensory cortex), the emotional feeling region (limbic system) and the thinking region (frontal cortex). Your brain responds to pain by sending messages that moderate the pain in the spinal cord. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pain/PN00017 Even with a fully functioning thalamus sorting and sending messages, if the cortex is not developed enough to receive them, there will be no consciousness or feeling of pain. Their statement that even complete removal of the cortex does eliminate the sensation of pain, is completely false. Margaret Kirkby, a pregnancy counsellor for The Bessie Smyth Foundation 2003-2006, had this to say: "As a person who has counselled many women over the years about their decision to have a termination of pregnancy, I know that the issue of whether the foetus feels pain or not, is a matter of concern for some women. This is because women think deeply about their pregnancy decisions no matter what their decision ends up being. Women weigh up the various factors in their lives (relationship they are or are not in; the children they may already have; their financial situation; their housing situation and so on) before they make their decision. Knowing the correct information (as opposed to the incorrect information which the anti-abortionists promote) about whether a foetus feels pain or not and/or at what stage, does not stop women from having an abortion. Instead, for some women, it just makes them feel more guilty about their decision. Obviously, this is what the anti-abortionists want women to feel." Another, more recent, graphic video shows an abortion, at what looks like a second trimester with various fetal body parts. At the end of the video it shows a fetus (miscarriage?) at approximately 25 weeks. http://www.abortionno.org/. The problem with these videos is that they completely leave the woman out of the picture and that the woman is merely a container for the most important one of all, the fetus. The vast majority of abortions are done early and look nothing like the ones on the anti choice videos. There are no graphic videos depicting early abortion at the stage when the embryo looks very similar those of other species. E.g. the embryo that would be aborted with the RU486 does not look anything like a developed baby. The emphasis is on the physical characteristics of the fetus, little hands, little feet and lots of blood and tissue. If humans are special, wouldn't it have to be more that humanlike appearance? After all, some early animal fetuses look very similar to early human fetuses.
See how all embryos have what appear to be little hands? If all of the above embryos were to be dissected, the images would be equally unpleasant, little hands, blood, entrails, ribs etc. We are told that human fetuses have beating hearts and that abortion stops a beating heart. But a beating heart is not unique to humans, neither are little hands as we can see from the above images. So, what is special about humans, other than the physical attributes? Is it the beating heart? Hands and ribs? Blood and entrails? These are traits share by many other species. What is it that sets humans apart from other species? The religious would be inclined to say that it is the soul. But what is a soul and when does the human fetus acquire one? Is it the fetus's unique DNA? But wait, the cat and dog fetuses above, also have unique DNA, yet, we have no compunction about killing them. Is it the fact that the embryo/fetus belongs to the species homo-sapiens? Yes it is, but what about the cells from our bodies, which can be cloned to make a new embryos, shouldn't they too, be protected? Again, what is it that sets us apart from other species? The following articles deal with the issue in depth: When does the fetus become a person? Personhood of the fetus Pictures of early abortion Pro choice videos on YouTube: From Danger to Dignity: The Fight toSave Abortion Part 1 to 6 If These Walls Could Talk Illegal abortion scene on kitchen table, movie 1996 Cher, Demi Moore, Sissy Spacek  |
