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ABORTION
Questions and Answers
Is the world overpopulated?
No! If everyone wanted to live in one city at a population density similar
to New York City, the world's six billion people could live in Texas.
In fact, the real emergency lies in the fact that populations are falling!
By the beginning of next year, more than seventy countries representing
more than half the world's population will have below replacement rate
fertility, which is defined as 2.1 children per woman.
According to United Nations projections, the population of the world will
peak at seven-plus billion about the year 2040, and then begin to decline.
For more information on population and development issues, see Windows to
the Truth.
Does the baby feel pain?
The simple answer is yes! A basic understanding of the developing nervous
system is needed to understand why.
Dr. Thomas Sullivan, a pediatric neurologist, says that the equipment that
humans use to sense pain includes special pain receptors in nerve endings
that connect nerve fibers to transmit signals from the receptor to the
spinal cord; neurons within the spinal cord that carry the signal to the
brain; the thalamus, which senses the pain; and the cortex, which supplies
psychological responses to the pain and also directs a response. All of
this complex equipment is in place, says Dr. Sullivan, "perhaps as early
as eight weeks, but certainly by thirteen and a half weeks."
Dr. William Matviuw, an obstetrician/gynecologist, says that the nerves
that sense pain reach the skin of the fetus by the ninth week of
gestation, and that detectable brain activity in response to noxious
(harmful or damaging) stimuli occurs between the eighth and tenth week (as
noted in Stanislaw Reinis and Jerome M. Goldman, The Development of the
Brain, 1980, pp. 223–235. Springfield, Ill., Charles C. Thomas
Publishers).
The earliest first term abortions occur at eight weeks, while the majority
occur between eight to twelve weeks. Based on the development of the
nervous system, babies as young as eight weeks gestational age feel both
psychological and physical responses to noxious stimuli, which in this
case is abortion.
Is abortion legal through all nine months of pregnancy?
Yes. On January 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court enacted Roe v. Wade
making abortion a "constitutional" right. The court established a
trimester system defining parameters within which states could limit
abortion. States could not restrict abortion at all during the first three
months of pregnancy. States were permitted to apply some restrictions
(i.e., licensing of doctors and health facilities, health codes, etc.)
from the end of the third month up to the point of viability. The Court
permitted states to outlaw abortions from viability until birth, except
when necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother.
It sounds like Roe made it possible for a state to outlaw late-term
abortions, but that's not the case. The same day as Roe, another case, Doe
v. Bolton, defined "health of the mother" to include all factors-physical,
emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman's age. Because the court
defined health so loosely, a woman can have an abortion for any reason and
at any time during her pregnancy.
Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton supersede all state laws, allowing a woman
to legally obtain an abortion for any reason throughout all nine months.
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