Foetuses can’t register pain, says expert

EVIDENCE that foetuses can feel pain is scientifically unsound and may be putting women considering an abortion at risk, a senior psychologist said today.

In an analysis published in the British Medical Journal, Dr Stuart Derbyshire examined the neurological and psychological evidence surrounding foetal pain.

He found the neurological processes needed to feel pain are developed by 26 weeks gestation, but that for pain to be registered and experienced, the mind needs to be able to accommodate the subjectivity of pain.