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Foetuses May Be Conscious Long Before Abortion Limit |
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Written by David Derbyshire
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Friday, 03 October 2003 |
Foetuses 'may be conscious long before abortion limit'
By David Derbyshire, Science Correspondent, Telegraph.co.uk
(Filed: 10/03/2003)
Foetuses
may develop consciousness long before the legal age limit for
abortions, one of Britain's leading brain scientists has said.
Baroness
Greenfield, a professor of neurology at Oxford University and the
director of the Royal Institution, said there was evidence to suggest
the conscious mind could develop before 24 weeks, the upper age where
terminations are permitted.
Although she fell short of calling
for changes in the abortion laws, she urged doctors and society to be
cautious when assuming unborn babies lacked consciousness. "Is the
foetus conscious? The answer is yes, but up to a point," she said.
"Given
that we can't prove consciousness or not, we should be very cautious
about being too gung ho and assuming something is not conscious. We
should err on the side of caution."
Last year, a Daily Telegraph
straw poll found many neurologists were concerned that foetuses could
feel pain in the womb before 24 weeks after conception.
Many
believed foetuses should be given anaesthetics during a late abortion,
after 20 weeks. Some also believe pain relief should be given for
keyhole surgery in the womb.
Abortions are allowed up to 24
weeks in Britain, but are rarely given so late. Around 90 per cent of
the 175,000 planned terminations that take place each year in England
and Wales are in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Around 1.5 per cent -
or 2,600 - take place after the 20th week.
Terminations after 24 weeks are only allowed in exceptional circumstances if, for instance, the mother's life is threatened.
Lady
Greenfield is sceptical of philosophers and doctors who argue that
consciousness is "switched on" at some point during the brain's
development.
She believes instead that there is a sliding scale
of consciousness and that it develops gradually as neurons, or brain
cells, make more and more connections with each other.
She told the British Fertility Society in London last week that she had serious concerns about foetal consciousness.
"The
Home Office has legislation that applies to a mammal and they have now
extended it to the octopus, a mollusc, because it can learn," she said.
"If a mollusc can be attributed with being sentient, and now has Home
Office protection, then my own view is that we should be very cautious
after making assumptions."
In 2001 a Medical Research Council
expert group said unborn babies might feel pain as early as 20 weeks
and almost certainly by 24. They called for more sensitive treatment of
very premature babies, who often had to undergo painful procedures like
heel pricks and injections.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 04 April 2007 )
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