One of the most common arguments from progressives as to why abortion is morally acceptable prior to fetal “viability” is that infants cannot feel any pain during the earliest stages of development in the womb.
In recent years, “Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection” bills have been passed in approximately 12 states, but no federal version has succeeded.
Setting aside the fact that a lack of ability to feel pain doesn’t justify murder, a new study published in the journal Cell may knock that argument to the ground.
The study, published on March 23, 2017, is titled: “Tridimensional Visualization and Analysis of Early Human Development,” and it claims that an “adult-like pattern of skin innervation is established before the end of the first trimester, showing important intra- and inter-individual variations in nerve branches.”
Further, the study says:
…the size reduction after 3DISCO allowed whole embryos to be imaged via LSFM and Prph+ peripheral nerves to be visualized from the brainstem and spinal cord to their distal extremities.
It’s not possible at this point to conclude that the system of nerves observed in embryos and fetuses would allow the infant in development to feel pain. However, what this study does show is that the nervous system of embryos and fetuses may be greatly more developed than was previously believed. Such a developed system could point to pain sensitivity.
If this research is furthered, and is eventually linked to pain sensitivity, the abortion lobby will surely find another argument in order to make an end run around science, allowing politicians to use whatever straw men they need to prop up the abortion industry.
However, while pro-life legislation is important, the heart of the issue is cultural.
If more people see abortion as it truly is, and continuing scientific evidence points to potential fetal pain, the idea of abortion will become more and more toxic. Such a cultural movement is the most important factor in ending the human genocide that is abortion.