Fetal brain development and abortion: a neuroscientific perspective

How does the fetus develop and what are the ethical and scientific keys to understanding abortion?

Imagine that you, dear reader you find out that a friend, sister, aunt, or acquaintance has just become pregnant..

She does not know what to do, since she is only 16 years old; her boyfriend has abandoned her, she is desperate and is thinking of terminating her pregnancy. What advice would you give her? To abort or not to abort? If she aborts, will she go to hell? Is the product already a human being, does it have a soul?

Abortion from a neuroscientific perspective

In order to understand abortion, neurosciences, and specifically neuroethics, have begun to investigate and unveil the secrets of the human brain. Several studies have found some interesting data regarding brain development and how it relates to the decision to terminate or not the pregnancy.

It should be made clear that this is not a pro- or anti-abortion or anti-conception paper; it simply presents the most solid arguments regarding brain development by leading neuroscientists.

Brain development in fetuses: how does it occur?

Third week after conception: first neurological foundations

I will start by saying that brain development, according to Pinel (2011), begins about three weeks after conception. begins approximately three weeks after conceptionwhen the tissue that is destined to form the human nervous system can be recognized in the form of a neural plate; but it is until the fourth week after the three protrusions emerge that the first signs of a brain appear.

Later, electrical brain activity does not begin until the end of the 5th and 6th week, that is, between 40 and 43 days of gestation.. However, it is not a coherent activity; it is not even as coherent as the nervous system of a shrimp.

Week 8, neurons appear and spread throughout the brain.

Despite this, for Gazzaniga (2015), it is between week 8 and 10 when the real development of the brain begins.. Neurons proliferate and begin their migration throughout the brain. The anterior commissure, which is the first interhemispheric connection (a small connection), also develops. During this period reflexes appear for the first time.

The temporal and frontal poles of the brain develop between 12 and 16 weeks.. The surface of the cortex appears flat during the third month, but by the end of the fourth month grooves appear. The lobes of the brain emerge themselves, and neurons continue to proliferate throughout the cortex (Gazzaniga, 2015).

By week 13 the fetus begins to move.. But the fetus is not yet a sentient and conscious organism, but a kind of sea slug, an accumulation of motor-sensory processes induced by reflex acts that does not correspond to anything in a directed or ordered way (Gazzaniga, 2015).

Week 17, the first synapses

Already in week 17, numerous synapses are formed.. Synaptic development does not trigger until about day 200 (week 28) of gestation. However, around week 23 the fetus can survive outside the uterus with medical assistance; also at this stage the fetus can respond to aversive stimuli. Major synaptic development continues until the third or fourth postnatal month. By 32 weeks, the fetal brain controls breathing and body temperature..

It should be noted that by the time the child is born, the brain resembles that of an adult, but its development is far from complete. The cerebral cortex increases in complexity over the years, and synapse formation continues throughout life.

Some conclusions about life, the brain and the possibility of abortion

In conclusion, it can be said that if at the moment of birth, the brain is still far from fulfilling its functions as we know them from any adult, the brain of a group of cells is not and will not be a brain that can develop, since, as has been mentioned, the brain is not and will not be a brain that can develop.As mentioned above, it is not until the 23rd week that the product can survive, and only with the help of a specialized medical team.

In short, an adult brain is an adult brain only because it has been able to develop in a context that provides it with the experiences to become a healthy and normal brain.

The debates and decisions of our lives must begin to be taken and discussed from a scientific point of view. and not from a religious or political point of view or ignoring what is going on inside our heads.

Thanks to the understanding of the sciences and, specifically, of neurosciences, it is now possible to make better decisions, in addition to the fact that these will help us to eliminate guilt, thanks to the systematized and rational knowledge that scientific conclusions lead to.

Bibliographical references:

• Gazzaniga, M.(2015). El cerebro ético. Spain: Paidós.
• Pinel, J. (2011). Biopsychology. USA: Pearson.
• Swaab, D. (2014). We are our brain. How we think, suffer and love. Spain: Plataforma Editorial.