Opposition to abortion related to inaccurate beliefs about the fetus' perception of pain in the womb
Misinformation about abortion and pregnancy is common; restrictions on access to abortion after 20 weeks are often justified using the claim that the fetus may feel pain by late pregnancy. The current medical consensus is that it is unlikely that fetal pain perception is possible before 29 or 30 weeks of gestation.
https://doi.org/10.1111/ajo.13356
Commentary
This study investigates the relationship between maternal attitudes toward abortion and beliefs about when the fetus develops the ability to perceive pain in utero. An online questionnaire was used to assess abortion beliefs and the ability of the fetus to perceive pain among participants ( N=374) residing in the United States.
Results showed that women reported a higher likelihood of believing that the fetus in utero can perceive pain before 23 weeks gestation (63.4 vs. 48.5%, P = .010) versus early pregnancy (40.1 vs. 15.8%). (P <0.000) However, most Black and Catholic participants, along with those with advanced degrees, also reported believing that fetal pain is not possible until late in pregnancy. Thus, most of these participants believed that the fetus develops the ability to perceive pain earlier than the reality of development, and this belief was shown to correlate with an anti-choice view.
It should be noted that these figures and the method of the experiment also support abortion and are the results of a questionnaire survey, as the involvement of bias by the mothers and others cannot be ruled out. However, it is also true that people with proper education and some religious beliefs have a different view.
