Can babies feel pain at 24 weeks?
Blogged by James Preece on 25th June 2010
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists have announced today that according to their study, an unborn child is unable to feel pain until it is at least twenty-four weeks old. Therefore, the BBC report gleefully that there is "no reason to challenge the abortion limit".
I'm fairly sure the question of whether or not an eight weeks old fetus can feel pain is irrelevant to the question of whether it is morally acceptable to kill them. You might as well say that it's okay for me to abort my toddler just as long as I slip some anaesthetic in her orange juice.
If you want evidence though, Love Undefiled has a list of studies showing pain at eight weeks. For me, the more important question is "is this a human person" because if they are human, then killing them is morally wrong.
This is a human person:
That's Baby Jessica born only 23 weeks after conception.
She survived.
Reader Comments
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Kathleen Lundquist said...
I'm struck by the juxtaposition on the blogpage of the picture of Baby Jessica just above the title of Ella's previous post, "The Passion of Jesus Christ and Suffering".
It moved me to prayer.
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loubie said...
Societies that care more about foxes and rats than about tiny human beings won't survive - and don't deserve to!
The writing is already on the wall for all such godless nations. Their birthrates continue to plummet.
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Jackie Parkes said...
Beautiful baby..so helpless..All my babies were between 8 & 9 lbs..& 40-42 weeks gestation. I'm very blessed.
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Sarah said...
I'm currently 24 weeks pregnant. When I cooked the bacon this morning on a grill that is about waist-level, I'm sure the baby could feel the heat and was uncomfortable with it. Having been still, the baby moved rapidly as if to get away from the heat and my husband took over the cooking. There has come a point in all of my pregnancies where using the grill becomes difficult.
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mary davis said...
Oh my God, I know what you mean! Every time I cook now baby starts to wiggle around!
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Paulinus said...
Since pain is an entirely subjective experience, how do they know?
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Kaylyn said...
There is a point in ever pregnancy were the baby can see feel and here everything the mother or other people say like right now my sister in law is 22 weeks pregnant and i was talking to her last night and said her name and she would just kick like no other
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Genty said...
It wasn't all that long ago that medical experts declared that people in a prolonged coma/persistent vegetative state were pretty much brain dead and should be 'allowed' to starve and thirst to death.
But, hey, some came out of their comas and reported they could hear everything that was going on around them but couldn't communicate.
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kieran said...
My sister went into labour on the 12th of feb and she gave birth to twins at 23 1/2 weeks old they've got 50% chance they'll live i just have to think positive.
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Kaylyn said...
i will pray for them
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Maggie McCluskey said...
Check out the Silent Scream. Shows the ultra sound during abortion of 11 week unborn baby, obviousy very disturbing but puts this beyond doubt.
DVD is quite difficult to get hold of but its on You Tube.
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Nicole said...
I think the abortion limit should be brought down to 14 weeks seeing as there is such thing as adoption and also contraception to stop people becoming pregnant!! that poor helpless child cant tell you what it is feeling any person to abort a child after 14 weeks is a nasty peace of work and should really think about what they have done !!! and as for a child not feeling pain or course it can why else would a scan show a child trying to get away from the abortion equipment!!! !!
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Kaylyn said...
Abortion is dumb thereis adoption!!!!
i was adopted at 5 and my baby brother almost died and noone wanted him they kept telling my real mom to get an abortion and b4 i found out i was having a baby brother i heard that nasty word abortion and i went off on my foster mom/aunt and grabbed my moms belly and said if yall dont want him ill take care of him.. Every one has there opion but i think there dumm if any one wants to my story plz email me Kaylyn.j08@rockisd.net
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