Fetuses can feel pain

doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7548.1036

BMJ 2006;332:1036 (29 April), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7548.1036

Letter

Fetuses can feel pain

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—Derbyshire argues against the ability of fetusesto feel pain.¹ He states: "Good evidence exists that the biologicalsystem necessary for pain is intact and functional from 26 weeks."He then adopts a definition of pain from the International Associationfor the Study of Pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotionalexperience associated with actual or potential tissue damage"but concludes that pain is "a conscious experience" rather than"merely the response to noxious stimuli," so a fetus cannotexperience pain.

This is a specious argument. There are many examples of theability of babies of this gestation to feel pain. In the firstfew moments after birth, even with extremely premature neonates(23-26 weeks), a noxious stimulus—for example, phlebotomy—cancause bradycardia, desaturation, and hypertension as a stressresponse. A neonatologist would seek to relieve this distresswith analgesia, and a parent would seek to soothe. Also, as. . . [Full text of this article]

Mark Tighe, paediatric specialist registrar

Southampton General Hospital, Southampton SO16 6YD mpt195@hotmail.com