Famed Neurosurgeon Debunks Claim that Unborn Children Don't Feel Pain
Renowned former neurosurgeon and current Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Dr. Ben Carson confirmed that unborn babies feel pain to the point they need to be anesthetized during surgeries in the womb.
“I’ve had the privilege of being able to operate on little babies that were 25, 26, 27, 28 weeks gestation, and I can guarantee you, they can feel, they can react,” Carson said during a panel discussion at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside of Washington, D.C. on Thursday.
“You have to give them anesthesia, if you’re going to cut them. Believe me,” he added. “(T)hey can also respond to comfort and to warmth. And for somebody to say that’s a meaningless bunch of cells, honestly, is just totally ignorant.”
.@SecretaryCarson describes when life begins. #CPAC2019 #WhatMakesAmericaGreat pic.twitter.com/htgswmM0aF
— CPAC 2019 (@CPAC) February 28, 2019
The physician also noted that for all the technology of modern society, mankind still has not developed the technology to create life.
“God has orchestrated an incredible situation where the egg and the sperm come together, and within a matter of 10 to 12 weeks, you can see the little fingers and the little toes, and the little nose, and the face, the heart is starting to beat,” Carson said. “It’s absolutely amazing.”
The former director of pediatric neurosurgery at the John Hopkins Children’s Center further explained that an unborn baby’s brain develops at a rapid pace, “hundreds of thousands of neurons every single day.’
Carson was the first doctor to successfully separate twins conjoined at the back of the head.
He argued the morality of society is at stake in the current abortion debate.
“Are we going off the deep-end here or are we still loving and compassionate people?” Carson asked. “I would say please stop and spend a little time educating yourself about what life is all about, and about when babies can feel and when they can respond to external stimulation.”
GOP Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, who also participated in the panel, contended, “Science is on our side, technology is on our side. We need to stand for life.”
“Planned Parenthood is active in every congressional district,” she said. “They are using their database to motivate people to get out and vote. … We need to create an army of people that are going stand for life and stand with Donald Trump as we go into 2020.”
Rep @cathymcmorris and @SecretaryCarson share their final thoughts on 2020 and the sanctity of life. #CPAC2019 #WhatMakesAmericaGreat pic.twitter.com/d8CIr9f0Zt
— CPAC 2019 (@CPAC) February 28, 2019
McMorris Rodgers is the mother of a son with Down Syndrome.
“We got that diagnosis that we never anticipated that our son had an extra 21st chromosome,” she recounted. “It’s not the news that you ever expect to receive, but yet I have embraced Cole for his potential, for his life for everything that he has to offer. And today, 12 years later, I can testify that he brings us so much joy.”
I’ve only become a stronger advocate for the value and the potential of every life. Becoming a mom is the most amazing thing in the world. pic.twitter.com/JhE4q0EMu7
— CathyMcMorrisRodgers (@cathymcmorris) February 10, 2019
Thursday’s CPAC panel comes as Democratic governors and state legislators have brought the issue of late-term abortion to the fore, proposing and in some cases passing new laws that remove protections for the unborn.
In January, on the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion nationwide, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the “Reproductive Health Act” into law.
The legislation permits abortions up to the time of birth for the broadly termed “health” of the mother and revokes the requirement for medical care for babies born alive after a failed abortion, according to the Liberty Counsel.
Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam managed to make headlines while advocating for similar legislation regarding late-term abortion in his state, which ultimately was narrowly defeated by the legislature.
Northam said if a baby were born alive under the provisions of the proposed law, “the infant would be kept comfortable” while a discussion ensued between the mother and her physicians about whether to keep the child alive.
In response, Trump called for a federal ban on late-term abortions during his State of the Union address earlier this month.
“To defend the dignity of every person, I am asking Congress to pass legislation to prohibit the late-term abortion of children who can feel pain in the mother’s womb,” he said.
“Let us work together to build a culture that cherishes innocent life,” the president added. “And let us reaffirm a fundamental truth: All children — born and unborn — are made in the holy image of God.”
Consistent with that call, GOP Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska introduced the “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Act,” which Democrats successfully blocked earlier this week.
All the prominent 2020 Democratic hopefuls in the Senate voted down the measure, including Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Sen. Kamala Harris of California, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.
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