Pain problem: when does a child feel it? (Susan Greenfield's research finds that a fetus may feel pain before 24 weeks gestation).

Report, The, March, 2003 by Celeste McGovern

One of the best-known scientists in the United Kingdom, Baroness Susan Greenfield, has said she believes unborn babies may develop consciousness--and feel pain--long before 24 weeks' gestation, Britain's legal cut-off for abortions.

The baroness, an Oxford University neurology professor, fell short of calling for abortion-law reform, The Telegraph reported March 10, but she urged people not to assume fetuses can't feel pain. "Is the fetus conscious? The answer is yes, but up to a point," she said to the British Fertility Society earlier this month. "Given that we can't prove consciousness or not, we should be very captious about being too gung-ho and assuming something is not conscious. We should err on the side of caution."

"The Home Office has...

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