Quote:
Originally Posted by Konichiwaneko
Pain is electrical pulses, they probably recorded this
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There are no nerves present at conception. It takes about 6-8 weeks before somewhat recognizeable neuroanatomy starts to appear. Add another 5-6 months before the brain is minimally useful for anything.
Anyway, even when the nerves have formed, and you can record activity, it doesn't mean much. You can also record "pain" in a lobster if you want to define it so loosely... A lobster will also "react" to stimuli in a way that might be interpreted as a perception of pain.
Of course a baby is alive, but so is that lobster. I think that when people say a developing baby "isn't alive" in abortion arguments, they mean that it is not (yet) self-aware. I don't really like using that term, but it's the closest thing I can think of right now to what I have in mind.