Dakota Voice is reviewing the Report of the South Dakota Task Force to Study Abortion, in light of the upcoming November vote on Initiated Measure 11 to end most abortions in South Dakota. Pertinent sections of the report will be reviewed each week for the next several weeks which may shed light on Initiated Measure 11.
The following is from Section II.H on the findings of the report: ===================================
The Task Force received a substantial amount of technical evidence concerning the question of whether an unborn child is capable of experiencing pain. Dr. Mark Rosen, an obstetrical anesthesiologist, testified by telephone, and Dr. Byron C. Calhoun, who appeared before the Task Force, both addressed this topic. The Task Force also received substantial written submissions and reports on this topic which we found important and helpful.
Since the time of Roe v. Wade, a number of generally accepted assumptions about human neurological development and our ability to feel pain have been refuted. The first assumption was that neonates were incapable of feeling pain. The second assumption was that myelinated nerve fibers were necessary for pain perception, and since they did not form completely until after birth, pain perception was a late developmental event. The third assumption was that pain experience required pain-detecting nerves connected to the thalamus and then to the brain cortex; furthermore, there was presumed to be a period of cortical maturation necessary before pain could be experienced. All of these assumptions were based upon gross histological observations.
It was only in the last 20 years that the traditional concept accepted at the time of Roe, that even normal neonates cannot feel pain, was first challenged. It had been assumed by the medical community that a fully developed and mature cortical brain region was necessary for pain perception. This assumption, it became clear, was inconsistent with the observations of caregivers for premature infants.
Biochemical studies have supported the observations of caregivers concerning pain experiences. Studies on unborn and premature infants have demonstrated that the developmental time when pain is experienced was earlier than had been previously understood. Detailed hormonal studies in pre-term neonates undergoing surgery under minimal anesthesia have shown marked release of catecholamines, as well as autonomic nervous stimulation, heart rate changes, increased hormonal activity and increase motor activity. These activities are consistent with stress experienced with pain. It has been documented that endocrine and metabolic responses associated with pain are abolished by giving anesthesia to pre-term neonates and to the fetus.
Based upon these and other studies, standard medical practice has changed. A New England Journal of Medicine editorial stated:
"Any decision to withhold anesthetic agents ought not to be based on the infant's age or perceived degree of cortical maturity; it should be based upon the same criteria used in older patients." (Emphasis added).
In the current state of medicine, with operative procedures being performed on premature babies as early as four months, it is a standard medical practice to anesthetize the child (at any age). Thus, as of 1989, it was known that premature babies could experience pain, and the standard practice of medicine came to require anesthetizing all neonates and all pre-term infants. The more difficult question was at what age did the unborn child first have the ability to feel pain? Virtually all questions surrounding the unborn child, and how he or she should be treated, or viewed, evince disagreement. The question concerning the ability of an unborn child to experience pain is no different.
There are today, however, areas of agreement. We find that it is generally accepted that the unborn child can experience pain beginning at 23 or 24 weeks post-conception. This fact seems to be generally accepted by both proponents and opponents of abortion. Dr. Mark Rosen, an obstetrical anesthesiologist, was invited to testify by members of the Task Force who support abortion. Dr. Rosen acknowledged that the unborn child can experience pain beginning somewhere between 23 and 29 weeks post-conception. Dr. Byron Calhoun testified that the evidence supports the conclusion that the unborn can feel pain much earlier than 24 weeks. There are some scientists who suggest that there is evidence which cannot be ignored, that the unborn child can experience pain perhaps as early as 7 to 8 weeks post-conception, and others who do not rule out pain perception at 5½ weeks post-conception.
In order to provide guidance to the Legislature, we examined the evidence and literature and we find that:
a. It is almost universally accepted that the unborn child can experience pain by 24 weeks after conception.
b. The evidence supports the conclusion that the unborn child experiences pain by 20 weeks post-conception, at the latest.
c. That there is a considerable body of evidence, increasing in recent years, that the unborn child may experience pain as early as 11 weeks post-conception.
d. It is possible that the unborn child experiences pain as early as 7 weeks postconception.
The following are sections of the report previously reviewed at Dakota Voice:
First week: The Incorrect Assumptions of the Roe v. Wade Decision
Second Week: What Has Been Learned Since the Roe v. Wade
Third Week: The Current Practice of Abortion in South Dakota
Fourth Week: The Experiences of Women Who Have Had Abortions
Fifth Week: Molecular Biology & Other Science Sheds Light on Abortion
Sixth Week: Science Now Explains the Uniqueness of Every Human Being from Conception
Seventh Week: Children are Surviving Premature Deliveries at Younger Ages
Eighth Week: Insight to Life from Human Embryology
Last Week: The Degree to Which Decisions to Undergo Abortions Are Voluntary
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