Abortion is a heavily debated topic, especially within
politics. There are many aspects to analyze when debating the ethics of
abortion, one of which is science. Neuroscientists have been engaging in
conversation regarding abortion and what makes it ethical or not. Two topics
that are brought into the debate are consciousness and pain. Consciousness has
many different definitions depending upon what view you're looking at it from.
17th century French philosopher Rene Descartes defines it as, “the idea that the
mere act of thinking about one’s existence proves there is someone there do the
thinking.” In the world of neuroscience it is defined as a set of cognitive
functions, including learning and memory, in concert with attention.
Psychologist see it more as individual awareness of your unique thoughts,
memories, feelings, sensations, and environment. However, some neuroscientist
and philosophers believe consciousness is just a “pointless” side effect of
cognitive process. This brings up the issue of whether basing abortion off of a
“consciousness meter” is appropriate.
There are several major areas in the
brain responsible for consciousness. The thalamus is a relay station in the
center of the brain that connects many other regions of the brain, while the prefrontal
parietal cortex is involved in cognitive processes, attention and working
memory. Until the fetus has developed a connection between these two areas, the
fetus will be unaware and unable to feel pain. Some legislators want to
implement a law making abortions illegal after 20 weeks gestation no matter the
circumstance of the pregnancy. Science challenges this policy because
connection between the thalamus and the prefrontal parietal network do not
happen until 29-33 weeks gestation. Although pain receptors first develop
between 7 and 9 weeks gestation, the connection to the pathway that carries
them out is not present until 33 weeks along. - written by students
Source
read before this class:
When Do We Become Truly Conscious? Daniel Bor. 2012.
Recommended
sources for further engagement:
Scientists Closing in on the Theory of Consciousness. Tanya Lewis. 2014.
Does a Fetus Feel Pain at 20 Weeks. Dave Levitan. 2015.
Consciousness and the Prefrontal Parietal Network: Insights from Attention, Working Memory,and Chunking. Daniel Bor and Anil K. Seth. 2012.
When Does a Fetus Feel Pain?: Anesthetizing the fetus during abortion is unnecessary, and maybe even dangerous. Elise Kleeman. 2005.
Consciousness: The Psychology of Awareness. Kendra Cherry. 2016.
