Exist such thought that fetus really senses pain during the procedure of abortion. It is a matter of medical, ethical and public policy interest. The proofs of fetal pain are contradictory. Some scientists consider that the fetus is capable of feeling pain from the first trimester, and the others maintain that the anatomical requirements for such experience do not exist until the second or even third trimester.
Pain receptors begin to appear in the seventh week of gestation. The thalamus, the part of the brain, which is responsible for the receiving signals from the nervous system and their transmission to the cerebral cortex, starts to form in the fifth week. Nevertheless, other anatomical structures involved into this process are not present until late stages of gestation. Connection between the thalamus and cerebral cortex is not mendacious until around the 23rd week. Some physicians suggest that a fetus cannot feel the pain at all, because such experience requires mental development, which only occurs outside a womb.
Development of Human Life in the Womb
Day 1 – conception. In this stage sperm penetrates the egg. After fertilization it is called a zygote, 3-4 days later it is called uterus. In such a way the unique human life begins.
Day 6 – during next 48 hours the embryo may drift freely in the womb, and then it begins implanting in the uterus. The placenta, some kind of complex connections between mother’s and embryo’s organisms, forms.
Day 22 – small heart begins to beat pulsing with foetus’s own blood; very often foetus’s type of blood differences from mother’s.
Week 5 – head, mouth, eyes, hands and legs begin to take legible shape. The length of the embryo is about 1/5 of an inch.
Week 6 – brain waves are disclosed. Fingernails begin to form.
Week 7 – toes and eyelids begin their formation. Nose is distinct. Baby can even swim and kick.
Week 8 – all organs are present. Fingerprints begin to form, bones begin to replace cartilage.
Weeks 9 and 10 – now the length of the embryo is about 1 inch. Facial features become apparent. Teeth begin to form. Baby can turn its head. The nervous system is sensitive and many internal organs begin to function.
Week 11 – all organ systems are functioning. Baby can clutch objects placed in its hand. A skeletal structure is present.
Week 12 – baby can feel pain, because the nerves, spinal cord and thalamus are formed. It is the end of the first trimester.
Week 14 – the foetus weighs almost an ounce, its length is about 3 inches. Sex organs begin to form. The child can move spontaneously.
Week 17 – baby can have dream sleep.
Week 18 – now the length of the foetus is about 5 inches. Hair begins to grow on the skin covering. The child can grasp, blink, and move its mouth.
Week 22 – the foetus weighs approximately ½ a pound, and its length is about 10 inches. Instead of transparent skin becomes opaque, and sweat glands develop.
Week 26 – the foetus can inhale, exhale and even cry. Taste sensors and eyes have completely developed.
Week 30 -- the foetus can live outside the womb under intensive medical care, it is so called premature birth.
Week 40 – it is the end of the natural period of gestation. The baby is ready to live separately from its mother.
| 
