Bishop 1

Jonathan Bishop
Mrs. Pritchard
ADV-LA-8
12-13-15
Its Alive!
Most of the conflicts that take place in the world between groups of people are based on
the ethics and morals of a problem, not actually ways of finding a solution to a problem. Most of
the time when we need to find a solution to a problem we join together as one to find the
solution. For example, right now everyone in the world is hoping to find a cure for cancer. One
problem that many people argue over, though, is abortion. Abortion has been legalized since
1973. In 1970 a woman named Norma McCorvey went to a doctor and asked for help to get an
abortion. Her doctor refused to help her so she called a lawyer for help. McCorveys lawyer
brought her to the attention of Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington who decided to be her lawyer
for free. McCorvey, who used the pseudonym Jane Roe, went to court arguing against the Texas
law in the case Roe vs. Wade. The state court decided that Roe could not have an abortion
because the pregnancy was not life threatening. Roe then took the case to the Supreme Court.
At this time Roe was already six months pregnant, and she decided to have her baby for her own
safety. Roe said, It was about me, and about all the women whod come before me, but it was
really for all the women who were coming after me. (Durrett 14). Roe decided to give her baby
up for adoption and went to the Supreme Court in December 1971. After 2 years the Supreme
Court finally came to a decision which was 7-2 in favor of Roe. The judges did not try to decide
when a fetus is alive; they just simply examined the majority belief of the people and the new
technologies available. Justice Blackman wrote the decision saying, The right to personal

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privacy includes the abortion decision, but at some point, the state interest as to protection
of prenatal life, becomes dominant. (Durrett 16). Basically the decision ruled that in the 1st
trimester a woman can abort her child, and the second and third trimesters were left to the state
to decide whether an abortion is legal or not (Durrett 12-17) Since then abortion has constantly
been something people argue about.
There are two camps that people will normally fall into on the abortion debate. The first
is the pro-choice camp, who believe that every expecting mother has the right to abort her child.
Pro-choice supporters believe that the mothers rights outweigh those of the baby. The other side
is the Pro-life camp, whose supporters believe that life starts at conception and that mothers
should take responsibility for their previous actions. One major factor that ties into the abortion
debate is whether a baby is conscious before birth. The basic question of consciousness before
birth is whether a fetus is capable of responding to anything or if it is in a purgatory like state. In
fact there is consciousness before birth because studies show that fetuses respond to pain, fetuses
in the third trimester can hear and feel, and fetuses can even learn in the womb.
The many studies that show there must be consciousness before birth suggest that fetuses
can feel pain. Clara Piratni, a scientist, cites a study published in the British Medical Journal,
which, suggests that the fetal brain does not recognize pain before 26 weeks, even though the
body is physically capable of responding to discomfort. Twenty six weeks is 6 months and 2
weeks, so after that period of time almost everyone would admit that fetuses do feel pain. The
interesting thing about this is that the study says that fetuses are capable of responding to
discomfort before the 26th week of pregnancy. This makes us estimate. On the other hand many
pro-choice supporters would argue this saying that even though fetuses have been recorded
flinching away from painful things the same is seen in patients under an anesthetic. The same

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have also been seen in anencephalic babies, which have no sensory cortex (Coghlan). Another
argument often used by pro-choice supporters is articulated by Andy Coghlan: who said, The
key thing, Rosen says, is that pain is a psychological construct based on experience and
memory, and so has to be "learned" even if the necessary brain circuitry is complete. Many
would argue along with Rosen and Coghlan claiming that pain is learned from experience and
therefore a fetus could not feel pain during abortion because pain is something that must be
learned to recognize. Since no one can agree, it is only safe to act as though a fetus can feel pain.
Say there was someone in the ER who needed a painful surgery and that person could not say
what they were feeling; would we not give that person anesthetic to ensure their comfort. We
always try to make things as painless as possible when we have an adult or child in a similar
situation, so why should we not do the same thing with fetuses? Christian Brugger says, Unless
and until contrary evidence is presented, we have a duty to act with presumption that they do
[referring to fetuses] If no one can agree on something we should always play it safe and try to
cause the least amount of harm for anyone.
Another study shows that babies can feel and hear inside the womb. If a fetus can hear
people it must be conscious because otherwise how could it hear in the first place. Sharon
Begley and Tessa Namuth both say, By the third trimester, the fetus can respond to sound. Car
horns can make a fetus jump and its heartbeat, pulsing since the fourth week, quicken. Pregnant
women have had to flee fortissimi concerts to calm their kicking, punching passengers. If a
fetus is kicking and punching while in the womb because it hears a loud sound it is impossible to
deny that fetuses are conscious. It is clear that if a fetus can react to uncomfortable situations it
must be somewhat active. Another reason that a fetus may be able to hear is described as so,
They could even be responsible for effects that mothers, and researchers, attribute to sound: if

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Mom hears a jackhammer, her adrenaline levels may surge. That will be transmitted to the fetus,
whose somersaults can then be blamed not on the noise but on the chemical. (Begley, Namuth).
Basically all this could be described as a reaction to adrenaline not a reaction to sound. Yet still
there is a reaction coming from the baby proving it must be conscious. Another thing that a fetus
can feel and sense is light. Begley and Namuth say that light is transmitted through the
abdominal wall of an expecting mother. Many fetuses have tried to cover their eyes when a
probe with a light is sent into the womb. How could one see all this data and still profess that
fetuses are not conscious? If an organism is not conscious how could it ever know to cover its
eyes when seeing bright light? With these facts there is a clear conclusion that fetuses must feel
pain.
Lastly we can conclude from studies that fetuses can learn and comprehend basic
information from audio and touch. One study run by some scientists in 2003 showed that fetuses
could recognize their own mothers voice out of several recordings of strangers voices. The
fetuses heart rates were measured after each audio tape which lasted for two minutes each. They
had the mother and the strangers say the same thing at the same rate and then played it to the
fetus. Each fetus heart rate increased after hearing their mothers voice while its heart rate did
not increase when it heard the other voices (Kisilevsky). Another study found that, differential
body movement responses to a tape recording of a theme song of a television show by near-term
fetuses (3637 weeks GA) whose mothers watched the program during pregnancy compared
with younger fetuses (2930 weeks GA) and those whose mothers had not watched the program,
indicating that the fetuses had learned the music (Kisilevsky). Both of these studies prove that
fetuses can learn things in their third trimester. This is solid proof that fetuses must be conscious
before birth. How could a baby not be conscious and yet be able to recognize its mother

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immediately after getting out of the womb (Kisilevsky). There is no way, with these studies,
that you could deny that babies are not conscious before birth. How can something learn and not
be conscious?
To conclude there is consciousness before birth because studies show that fetuses
respond to pain, babies can hear and feel, and fetuses can even learn in the womb. It is clear that
there is consciousness before birth because of all the studies that have been done to prove it true.
There is no way anyone could deny there is consciousness before birth after looking at all the
extensive studies done on actual fetuses. Even though it is quite clear that there is consciousness
before birth the wrong people have been studying fetuses trying to find the true answer.
Christian Brugger described this perfectly when he said:

Let me propose one more example. If reasonable doubt existed as to whether the
new device known as the Mosquito, which emits a high-pitched noise to
disperse loiterers, not only caused minor auditory discomfort but sever pain, the
burden of proof would fall upon the manufacturer to give evidence that it does not
before the device should be approved for general use. Proof, of course would be
simple to arrive at: ask those exposed to the Mosquito. Since fetuses cannot
yet provide self-report in language we cannot simply ask the whether they feel
pain. Yet I think the principle still stands: the burden of proof would fall upon the
defenders of the Mosquito to rule out a reasonable doubt that the device causes
severe pain before its common use was approved, or to take action to assure that
this possibility is mitigated. The burden falls on the one who might be doing
wrongful harm to rule out reasonable doubt that they are. (Brugger)

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Brugger has a great point that we shouldnt be the ones who have to decide whether there is
consciousness before birth. In fact those who are performing the abortions should be tasked with
doing the research on any possible problems that could occur relating to abortion. Of course
these studies would need to be done by unbiased scientist hired by the abortion clinic so there
could be no bias towards either side.
Really, consciousness before birth should have no effect on the abortion debate.
Abortion is wrong no matter what way you put it. Abortion is effectively killing a baby and
there is no way you can justify that. Lets assume for just a few minutes that there isnt
consciousness before birth. Even if the fetus inside a womans womb is totally inactive and
basically a shell of a real baby, that fetus will eventually become a living, breathing person just
like you and me. When someone aborts a baby, that person is killing a fetus, conscious or not,
that fetus would normally become something amazing, a gift of God. Unfortunately our society
has declared it as okay to kill a fetus because it is an inconvenience, and we have just covered
our eyes by saying that it isnt alive until it is born. Even though that fetus has a beating heart
and has been fully shaped into a tiny human being we consider it to not be alive. Lets take this
to extremes, what will occur next? Say an elderly person has extreme case of dementia and cant
even remember who they are. Would we be fine with killing that living, breathing person
because they are technically not alive since they have forgotten all that they are? That is a very
extreme idea, but that is basically what abortion is. We decide that it is okay to kill something
that could turn out to be another human being, a creation of God, because it is an inconvenience
which we then label as not alive to trick ourselves into believing that it is okay to kill that thing
which will eventually be living.

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Works Cited
Brugger, E. Christian. "The Ethics of Fetal Pain." Human Life Review 36.4 (2010): 37. TOPICsearch.
Web. 4 Nov. 2015. <http://search.ebscohost.com.>
Clara, Piratni. "Timing of Fetal Pain Reviewed." Australian, The (n.d.): Newspaper Source. Web. 5 Nov.
2015. <http://search.ebscohost.com.>
Coghlan, Andy, and Emma Young. "Why Fetuses Don't Feel Pain." New Scientist 187.2515 (2005): 8-9.
Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 Nov. 2015. <http://search.ebscohost.com.>
Durrett, Deanne. The Abortion Conflict a Pro/Con Issue. Berkeley Heights: Enslow Publishers, 2000.
Print.
Kisilevsky, Barbara S.Hains, Sylvia M. J. "Exploring The Relationship Between Fetal Heart Rate And
Cognition." Infant & Child Development 19.1 (2010): 60-75. Psychology and Behavioral
Sciences Collection. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
Begley, S., and T. Namuth. "Do You Hear What I Hear? (Cover Story)." Newsweek 117.22 (1991): 12.
Middle Search Plus. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.