[net.abortion] Do Fetuses suffer pain? Part 1

ix21@sdccs6.UUCP (04/27/84)

I have posted two reprints from the American Medical News which I
thought this group may find interesting.

The concept of whether fetuses can feel pain is still subject to
debate.  Just because a fetus shows reflexes does not mean it
suffers pain.  A reflex is mediated through an arc of nerves that
go from the limb to the spinal cord and back to the limb.  The brain
is not involved. Myelination of the nerves is not complete until
sometime after birth; myelination is the formation of the insulation
of the nerve cells.

Part 2 is the original article; Part 3 is a letter to the editor.