Masterbating Fetus

[Racket_Man]

US Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas), wants to ban abortions before 15 weeks because

[He] believes that abortion should be banned earlier than the Supreme Court says it should because, in part, he knows fetuses feel pain. He knows this because he says he's seen male fetuses begin masturbating in the womb around 15 weeks into a pregnancy

And Burgess is stating, on the Congressional record, that we should trust him because of his experience as a doctor. According to the GOP Doctors Caucus website, he has practiced as an OB/GYN for 25 years — 25 years of tiny masturbating fetuses.

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/polit...rbation/66345/

http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/was...ce-doctors-say

This whole thing started back in 1996 when

Any media reports on masturbation by fetuses can almost exclusively be traced back to a single letter written by two OB/GYNs in Italy in 1996 and published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The letter related an anecdote in which the two doctors had "recently observed a female fetus at 32 weeks gestation touching the vulva with the fingers of the right hand" before the female fetus experienced prolonged spasms, and "finally...relaxed and rested."

scan of said letter

Note that the fetus in question was 32 WEEKS not the 15 claimed by Rep Burgress.

So now we have materbating fetuses????? FOR SHAME :lol

[Greenday]

That kind of bill will never pass without a real study to back up the claim. "I saw it happen" isn't good enough proof to make such a controversial law.l

[s_stabeler]

I would point out, by the way, that there is another reason why pro-life people push for the window of time you can get an abortion being shortened. It increases the chance that you can't get an abortion due to not knowing if you are even pregnant or not until after the limit. ( most people find out at about 12 weeks. That, under a 15-week limit, would mean 3 weeks to a) decide to gewt an abortion b) find an abortion provider c) get through any requirements to get an abortion (things like required vaginal ultrasounds) and d) get an abortion. And that has got to take some time, especially if waiting lists get longer and longer (which they WILL, if pro-life peiople have their way, since I'll bet the next thing they do is require abortions to be done somewhere that hasn't recieved taxpayer funds)

in short, this is all a way to get around Roe V Wade to de facto ban abortions.

[Ladeeda]

Wouldn't that mean the filmed, penetrative video scans some Pro Lifers want to force on women considering abortion could be child pornography?

[Jaden]

So that's why babies are born blind....

[Panacea]

"seen" masturbating? When you consider that most ultrasounds are grainy 2 dimensional images (3D U/S only recently became available) I find it hard to accept such a claim.

That the fetus does explore ones own body in the womb is certainly true. That they could feel pleasure from exploring their sexual organs while possible, ignores some basic issues including the fact the brain undergoes most of its development in the weeks before delivery . . . the connections have not been made at 15 weeks.

Anecdotal accounts are not credible.

[Pixilated]

Kinda makes me wonder about US Rep. Michael Burgess and what's going on in his tiny little mind ...

[Racket_Man]

I found out about this story on Bill Mahr's Real TIme program from Friday. During the "funny stuff break" he takes about half way into the show, he did a pariody fetus pron magazine bit.

[Fire_on_High]

That the fetus does explore ones own body in the womb is certainly true.

This is where my discomfort with the issue comes in. To explore one's body seems a self aware trait. Now if you can convince me they don't feel it...tbh I'm more squeamish about the idea of tearing apart a living being that's experiencing the pain, than I am about the idea of a fetus being killed that can't feel it.

Yes, I suppose that means I have more hangups about torture than killing...at some level it seems like if it can't feel, then it's in the same category as being grateful if a person passes quietly in their sleep, or a pet being humanely euthanized.