Centre for Science Communication, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol. 2021 Aug;61(4):599-603. doi: 10.1111/ajo.13356. Epub 2021 Apr 24.
Misinformation about abortion and pregnancy is common. Restrictions on abortion access at and beyond 20 weeks are frequently justified using the claim that a fetus can experience pain before the third trimester. The current medical consensus is that it is unlikely that fetal pain perception is possible before the 29th or 30th weeks of pregnancy.
To examine the relationship between abortion attitudes and beliefs about when a fetus develops the capacity to perceive pain in utero.
We used Amazon's Mechanical Turk to recruit participants residing in the United States (N = 374) and used an online questionnaire to assess their beliefs about abortion and the ability of a fetus to perceive pain.
Anti-choice participants were more likely than pro-choice participants to believe that a fetus in utero can perceive pain before the 23rd week of pregnancy (63.4 vs. 48.5%, P = 0.010) and in the first trimester (40.1 vs. 15.8%, P < 0.000). Most Black and Catholic participants, along with those with advanced degrees, believed that fetal pain is not possible before the third trimester.
Most participants believed that a fetus develops the capacity to perceive pain earlier than developmental reality, and this belief correlates with anti-choice views.
关于堕胎和怀孕的错误信息很常见。在 20 周及以后限制堕胎的做法常常用胎儿在第三个三个月前可能会感到疼痛这一说法来证明其正当性。目前的医学共识是，胎儿在怀孕 29 或 30 周之前不太可能有感知疼痛的能力。
检验堕胎态度与对胎儿何时在子宫内有感知疼痛能力的信念之间的关系。
我们使用亚马逊的 Mechanical Turk 平台在美国招募参与者（N=374），并使用在线问卷来评估他们对堕胎和胎儿感知疼痛能力的信念。
反堕胎选择的参与者比支持堕胎选择的参与者更有可能相信胎儿在子宫内可以在 23 周之前（63.4%对 48.5%，P=0.010）和在第一个三个月（40.1%对 15.8%，P<0.000）感知疼痛。大多数黑人参与者和天主教徒，以及拥有高等学历的人，认为胎儿在第三个三个月之前不会感到疼痛。
大多数参与者认为胎儿在发展现实之前就有感知疼痛的能力，而这种信念与反堕胎观点相关。
