Khadija Mbowe
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Abortion: The facts, the feelings, and direct action
🕑 Added 2022-06-28 18:24:02 +0000 UTCStill working on some fact-checking and editing but I'm in my debunking era and wanted to give y'all some helpful information with regard to anti-abortion, forced birth arguments.
This video is going to be long as this is only part of one section...prepare yourselves.
Argument #1
Fetuses are not parasites because a parasite is a different species than its host.
Let’s break this down. A parasite by definition is “an organism that lives in or on an organism of another species (its host) and benefits by deriving nutrients at the other's expense.”
While a fetus is not a different species from its host, scientists have considered fetuses as acting in a parasitic way, let me explain!
Even though the fetus isn’t a different species, it does have foreign DNA, DNA from the sperm making the uterus a not so safe space for the fetus. So, in order to protect it the placenta is created, the very first organ any of us have. The placenta does NOT belong to the “mother”, parent, patient, it belongs to the fetus.
- Explain it again (as your cells divide once egg is fertilized, it becomes a ball, the group of cells on the inside are the cells that will become the embryo and the ones on the outside are what will become the placenta
- Indigenous cultures apparently see the placenta as our first parent
Why that matters is because if the eventual embryo didn’t have that placenta blanket, the host white blood cells would find it and destroy it because half of it is foreign. So in order to protect the eventual embryo the placenta hides it. RadioLab referred to it as a sort of invisibility cloak, hiding the pregnancy from the “mother”.
"What we found next was most unusual. It appeared the placental NKB contained the molecule phosphocholine which is used by filarial nematodes, a type of parasitic worms to escape host immune systems! I have had two or three 'Eureka!' moments in my career. This one, at 63, I am happy to bow out on."- Professor Phil Lowrey, University of Reading, 2007
As the first few weeks go by the placenta is doing all it can to break through the walls of the uterus and get access to all the nutrients in the parent's blood. So about 5 weeks in, it goes on the attack. The placenta releases a protein called PP13 that acts as a diversion. It sends this protein to another part of the uterus so the host, aka "mother" aka patient, their immune system sends errybody to the diversion part of the uterus. While those girls are distracted, the placenta, using these long skinny claw like things, takes this opportunity and eventually breaks through the uterus. Blood pours in, placenta picks the nutrients it needs and begins trying to make the biggest.baby. possible.
*Clip from RadioLab* (I've reached out to RadioLab to see if I can use some of their audio from an episode specifically about this, but am still waiting to hear back)
So no, the fetus isn't a parasite...but it acts like a parasite so...
Argument #2
A baby isn’t a clump of cells, it's alive at the moment of conception.
Now this argument is typically used by forced birth activists when discussing viability. In their view, life begins at conception and if you argue a baby is just a clump of cells you’re arguing against science.
(You’ll notice lots of cherry picking of science…)
On this point they are half right. Scientists have said that life begins at conception, but they never said consciousness does…
Argument #3
The Fetus can feel pain as early as 20 weeks post fertilization, maybe even earlier…Fetuses can even feel pain more intensely than newborns!
Working backwards, Dr. Kanwaljeet Anand’s research is what some forced birth activists use to back up the claim that fetuses experience pain more intensely than newborns… even though, when asked before congress in 2005:
“…is it your opinion that the pain perceived by the unborn is possibly more intense than that perceived by term newborns or older children?”
Dr. Anand said,
“No. There is—that is not my opinion. And I really don't have any data to suggest that that could be true, or the other way.”
Also, this man is tired of his work being politicized. He's just out here trying to get more information. Will y’all leave him alone and stop lying on his research???
Now onto the belief of fetuses and pain in general…
*audio of these quotes*
Rep. Ralph Abraham, May 13: As a doctor, I know and I can attest that this bill is backed by scientific research showing that babies can indeed feel pain at 20 weeks, if not before.
Rep. Dan Benishek, May 13: The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act will prevent abortions from occurring after the point at which many scientific studies have demonstrated that children in the womb can actually feel pain.
Rep. Charles Boustany, May 13: The scientific evidence is clear: unborn babies feel pain. They feel pain at 20 weeks post-fertilization.
Those were excerpts from statements made by lawmakers back in 2015 with regard to the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection act. Passed May 13, 2015 this act would ban abortions beyond 20 weeks. The main way they were able to do this was by manipulating people's feelings with untrue information, and half truths about fetuses and pain.
After “reviewing the literature and speaking to several experts” fact-check.org came to the conclusion that:
“These statements, (the ones from rep.) and others like them, are problematic because of their definitive nature. Scientific research on pain in the fetus is extremely complicated, primarily because pain is a subjective experience and a fetus cannot indicate if something hurts.”
Using available evidence from the Journal of the American Medical Association, experts said:
“Evidence regarding the capacity for fetal pain is limited but indicates that fetal perception of pain is unlikely before the third trimester.” Which begins at 27-28 from conception.
Breaking this down…
In order to feel pain you have to be aware of an unpleasant stimulus. Receptors in your body need to tell the brain, yo, something not okay just happened and then your brain goes, oh true, lemme tell you how to interpret that…ouchie. (zoom in)
So Fact-Check.org goes on to say that the reason the JAMA review thinks fetal pain is unlikely is because the connections between the thalamus and the cortex of the fetus haven’t yet formed.
According to mother Google, the thalamus is the egg shaped part of your brain that sorts all incoming motor and sensory information- all but smell. The cortex is the whole top part that’s made up of the lobes and stuff and is responsible for our “higher processes”, “
including memory, thinking, learning, reasoning, problem-solving, emotions, consciousness and functions related to your senses.”
In simple english the girls do not know each other, like your thalamus is J-Lo and your Cortex is Mariah *clip for WWHL*
“In reviewing the neuroanatomical and physiological evidence in the fetus, it was apparent that connections from the periphery to the cortex are not intact before 24 weeks of gestation and, as most neuroscientists believe that the cortex is necessary for pain perception, it can be concluded that the fetus cannot experience pain in any sense prior to this gestation.”
Fact-Check.org says they asked “several members of congress” for evidence to back up the stuff they were saying…I’m sure you can imagine how that went…To be fair, some did send over their receipts, but those weren’t as substantial as they’d have you believe.
The author of one paper Rep. Charles Boustany sent over as evidence regarding consciousness without a cerebral cortex told the New York Times in 2013
“... that his work had only “marginal bearing” on fetal pain. In fact, his paper, he said, “did not deal with pain specifically.”
So y’all see what I mean by half truths? It is a lot easier to get your point across when you don’t tell people the full story.
Argument #3a
Fetuses react to stimuli, haven’t you heard of that heel prick they do to fetuses where they recoil as a response? If they didn’t feel pain, why would they recoil???
*rubbing hands together*
There’s this heel prick done with a needles used for amniocentesis, when the fetus gets pricked, it recoils away BUT, studies show that the response “is more of a reflex controlled by the “lower brain” (which is involved with more base functions like breathing than with consciousness) or the spinal cord and does not necessarily reflect an experience of pain.”
You can react to stimuli without actually feeling pain. That is to say that even infants born with Anencephaly or born missing major portions of their brain, skull, and scalp, react to tactile stimuli, same with folks in vegetative states.
When you lack cortical function you’re simply not going to experience pain the same way. This is known as nociception, or the detection of painful stimuli. Again, not just a detection of a stimuli, but the pain associated with that stimuli.
I don’t say all of this to dismiss the very valid concern of fetal pain, but again, if you’re going to argue for forced birth at the expense of the parent’s life on the basis that it causes the fetus pain…the science doesn’t back up your arguments…
Next!
Argument #4
A fetus can be viable outside the womb at 20 weeks if given the proper care.
This is true to an extent, but one study found only 2% of these babies survived without moderate or severe impairment while only 5.1 % lived at all.
Argument #5
Abortion is never medically necessary to save the life of the “mother”.
This one…made my blood boil so imma just let the scientists talk
*clips*
Argument #6
Abortion in the case of rape and/or incest does more harm to the “mother” because it’s adding a second trauma to the mother’s psyche.
If the last one made my blood boil because it’s an outright lie, this next one made me want to climb to the top of a 10 story building and *bleeeeeep* and then *bleeeeeep* because at this point why not.
For the people that this might be true for, fair. I am not in your body, I do not know your life experience, so I cannot tell you whether terminating a reminder of an already traumatic experience would be better or worse for you. Even as a survivor myself, even as a card carrying uterus holder, it isn’t my right or privilege to tell you that you should still have an abortion, not after you tell me it will traumatize you further.
Because even though I don’t believe in God, what would you know, I have a moral compass. Meaning even if I don’t agree with someone’s choices, I can support, empathize, and understand their perspective…imagine…but what do I know…
…I am just a baby…
Rapid fire debunking
- No Uterus no opinion, no you can’t “identify” as a woman for this conversation because you still don’t have a uterus and not all people who identify as women even have uterus you fucking idiot
- Yes, according to the Business library, there are around 40 couples waiting for every 1 baby that is placed for adoption, but adoption has become a lot more difficult over the last few decades, there are more children and teens up for adoption than there are babies, and a lot of couples want to adopt younger children
- Planned Parenthood doesn’t use taxpayer money to fund abortions, under the Hyde Amendment (passed in 1976, took effect in 1980) federal funds CANNOT be used for abortions except in the case of rape, incest, or to save the "mother’s" life.
Comments
Kalkail
I would add scientists are still trying to understand the interface between maternal and embryonic cells. As it is presently understood, embryonic cells invade maternal tissue to rein in immune responses thus increase survivability (see: https://www.science.org/content/article/immune-system-negotiations-stop-mom-s-body-attacking-her-fetus). This is not dissimilar to parasitic invasion manipulating immune suppression. While in many cases stromal cells actually defend developing cells from maternal immune system attack, just like interferon-beta viral hijacking (see brief: https://www.technologynetworks.com/immunology/news/viruses-can-block-the-immune-response-by-hijacking-cellular-process-345625). More examples can be found in the Teichmann database.
Caffeine_unicorn
Not to mention the financial and physical cost of pregnancy, even if someone else raises the child when they’re here. It’s a HEAVY toll on you mentally and physically. I’ve been dealing with a lot of exhaustion, anxiety, and depression while pregnant and I WANT my baby. Right now my hospital bills are sitting at >$1,000 while fully insured and I haven’t even had the baby yet. Not to mention the loss of income I’ve had due to missing work to monthly, biweekly and now weekly doctors appointments and testing. And my pregnancy has been picture perfect with no common complications like gestational diabetes.
Kaela Brown
- great points about the rapid fire debunking however, imho adoption or foster care is not a real response to abortion at all. I don’t even entertain it really. Some women simply don’t want to be pregnant and don’t want to go through labor/delivery.
