Gently talking to the fetus, however, seems to pose little risk.
Fifer suggests that this kind of activity may help parents as much as the
fetus. "Thinking about your fetus, talking to it, having your spouse talk
to it, will all help prepare you for this new creature that's going to
jump into your life and turn it upside down," he says--once it finally
makes its anti-climactic entrance.
WHAT'S THE IMPACT ON ABORTION?
Though research in fetal psychology focuses on the last trimester,
when most abortions are illegal, the thought of a fetus dreaming,
listening and responding to its mother's voice is sure to add new
complexity to the debate. The new findings undoubtedly will strengthen
the convictions of right-to-lifers--and they may shake the certainty of
pro-choice proponents who believe that mental life begins at
birth.
Many of the scientists engaged in studying the fetus, however,
remain detached from the abortion controversy, insisting that their work
is completely irrelevant to the debate.
"I don't think that fetal research informs the issue at all,"
contends psychologist Janet DiPietro of Johns Hopkins University. "The
essence of the abortion debate is: When does life begin? Some people
believe it begins at conception, the other extreme believes that it
begins after the baby is born, and there's a group in the middle that
believes it begins at around 24 or 25 weeks, when a fetus can live
outside of the womb, though it needs a lot of help to do so.
"Up to about 25 weeks, whether or not it's sucking its thumb or has
personality or all that, the fetus cannot survive outside of its mother.
So is that life, or not? That is a moral, ethical, and religious
question, not one for science. Things can behave and not be alive.
Right-to-lifers may say that this research proves that a fetus is alive,
but it does not. It cannot."
"Fetal research only changes the abortion debate for people who
think that life starts at some magical point," maintains Heidelise AIs, a
psychologist at Harvard University. "If you believe that life begins at
conception, then you don't need the proof of fetal behavior." For others,
however, abortion is a very complex issue and involves far more than
whether research shows that a fetus is alive. "Your circumstances and
personal beliefs have much more impact on the decision," she
observes.
Like DiPietro, AIs realizes that "people may use this research as
an emotional way to draw people to the pro-life side, but it should not
be used by belligerent activists." Instead, she believes, it should be
applied to helping mothers have the healthiest pregnancy possible and
preparing them to best parent their child. Columbia University
psychologist William Fifer agrees. "The research is much more relevant
for issues regarding viable fetuses--preemies."
Simply put, say the three, their work is intended to help the
babies that live--not to decide whether fetuses should.
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