Re: Stuart Campbell Op-Ed
From: Allen Worrall (jworrall@alaska.net)
Tue Oct 3 23:09:01 2006
I admire Professor Campbell for his stand.
Allen
>----- Original Message -----
From: "art fougner, md" <evsono@pipeline.com>
To: "Multiple recipients of list ULTRASOUND" <ultrasound@dns.obgyn.net>
Sent: Tuesday, October 03, 2006 6:36 PM
Subject: Stuart Campbell Op-Ed
> Folks
>
> As I carefully don my Flame - Retardant Hazmat Attire, I post this op ed
> from Stuart Campbell. It behooves all Ultrasound Professionals to
> consider Professor Campbell's eloquent plea.
>
> Don't tear a smiling foetus from the womb
>
> By Professor Stuart Campbell
> (Filed: 04/10/2006)
>
> There is something deeply moving about the image of a baby cocooned
> inside the womb. When four-dimensional scans first became available
> three years ago, I sat with parents who trembled at the sight of their
> soon-to-be newborn. They told me they wanted to stroke its downy head.
>
> Advanced scanning means we have a window on the secret life of foetuses.
> At 11 weeks we can see them yawn, and even take steps. At 22 weeks,
> they begin to open their eyes.
>
> Between 20 and 24 weeks we watch as they seem to cry, smile and frown.
> Understandably, these incredible images have influenced the debate on
> abortion. I pioneered the 4-D scanning technique in the UK and it has
> certainly caused me to question my own opinions.
>
> I now believe the maximum age for abortion should be cut to 18 weeks so
> we do not abort foetuses who exhibit the signs of humanity these images
> portray. Of course, I have been accused of "sentimentality". Maybe
> this is right, but I defy anyone to see these pictures and not pause to
> wonder if they might be wrong.
>
> With the 1967 Abortion Act, terminations could be performed up to 28
> weeks for "social" abortions. In 1990, the law was changed to 24 weeks.
> At that time, a baby born at 23 weeks had less than a 10 per cent chance
> of survival. Now, it has a 66 per cent chance and we must change the
> law again.
>
> My most vocal critics, Dr Donald Peebles at University College, London,
> and Dr Huseyin Mehmet at Imperial College, London, claim that these
> facial expressions are developmental reflexes. They are defending the
> abortion law as it stands.
>
> But I am equally keen to protect a woman's right to choose. I've
> watched women die from the after-effects of backstreet abortions. But
> we have to draw the line somewhere and 24 weeks is too late.
>
> Pain is a very difficult thing to measure in an unborn baby. Foetuses
> have no memory of pain, and no anticipation of it. But if you stuck a
> pin into a foetus, I believe it would make a crying face and flinch.
> Clearly, that's an experiment we can't carry out, but we can weigh up
> the evidence we have and make the best judgment possible.
>
> Babies born at 22 weeks are never treated without analgesics. Why, if
> there is scientific evidence to prove their brains are too
> under-developed to feel pain or distress, would they be given medication
> to protect them from pain? And if we accept that these babies may feel
> pain, why is it so difficult to imagine they would feel the same
> sensation inside the womb?
>
> I know if I gently push a baby in the womb at 28 weeks, it will make a
> crying face because it has been disturbed. How can we tell so precisely
> the point at which these expressions stop being simple reflexes and
> start to mean something?
>
> And even if they can't feel pain, they can certainly survive outside the
> womb. A study at University College Hospital found that 72 per cent of
> babies born at 24 weeks survive. Another study in Minneapolis between
> 1996 and 2000 reported that at 23 weeks, 66 per cent survive and, though
> they may suffer serious medical complications, 30 per cent of babies
> born at 22 weeks will live.
>
> Those casting doubt on whether a smile is really a smile are, in my
> opinion, defending the indefensible. If a baby has reached a stage
> where it could survive in a neo-natal unit, then the pregnancy shouldn't
> be terminated for social reasons.
>
> And we must focus on terminations for social reasons if we are talking
> about amending the law. There are 1,200 terminations a year between 22
> and 24 weeks, 70 per cent of which are for non-medical reasons.
>
> We must grasp the nettle now. These are healthy babies, not brain-dead,
> feelingless creatures. When I see a foetus that can smile at me, I know
> absolutely that we should not tear it from the womb.
>
> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2006/10/04/do0403.xml&sSheet=/opinion/2006/10/04/ixopinion.html
>
> Respectfully posted to generate discussion ...
>
> Art
>
> --
> art fougner, md
> "May The Wings of Liberty Never Lose a Feather." - Jack Burton
>
