Over the past 30 years, massive changes in technology have literally transformed American society. But have ethical standards been able to keep up with scientific improvements? When it comes to pediatrics, that answer is an emphatic ‘no.’
At roughly the same time that the first connections of the Internet were being plotted, pioneers of fetal surgery (many of them at Pennsylvania’s own Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia) were dreaming of the possibilities of treating birth defects while the baby is still in the womb.
Now, nearly 30 years later, technological advancements have dramatically changed our everyday lives, and the radical notion of successful pre-birth surgeries is now a reality. Additionally, these same advances are giving increased hope to parents who are shocked when their babies are born far earlier than anticipated. These massive advances in science and medical technology require us to consider some profoundly important ethical questions.
Fetal surgery takes place as early as 18 weeks gestation. Prenatal surgery to help repair spina bifida – the most common neurological birth defect – takes place between 19 and 25 weeks gestation.
It’s important to note that anesthesia is used in fetal surgeries for both mother and child. Why? Significant evidence now shows that by 20 weeks of development, unborn children have the capacity to feel pain.
We have the opportunity to protect the unborn children in this country whose lives are being ended – in many cases brutally – at an age at which these children are capable of experiencing pain. To that end, we have introduced legislation which would amend the Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act to reflect the scientific advances made over the last three decades.