Imagine that you, dear reader,
learns that a friend, sister, aunt, or acquaintance has just become pregnant .

She does not know what to do, since she is only 16 years old; her boyfriend has abandoned her, she is desperate and she is thinking of terminating her pregnancy.
What advice would you give her? To abort or not to abort? If she has an abortion, will she go to hell? Is the product already a human being, does it have a soul?

Abortion through the prism of neuroscience

To understand abortion, neurosciences, and specifically neuroethics, have begun to investigate and unlock the secrets of the human brain. Several studies have found some interesting data regarding brain development and how this relates to the decision to terminate a pregnancy or not.

It should be clarified that this is not a paper that is either for or against abortion or conception, it will simply set out the strongest arguments regarding brain development by leading neuroscientists.

Brain development in fetuses: how does it happen?

Third week after conception: first neurological foundations

I’ll start by saying that brain development, according to Pinel (2011)
begins approximately three weeks after conception , when the tissue that is destined to form the human nervous system can be recognized as a neural plaque; but it is not until the fourth week after the three bumps appear that the first signs of a brain appear.

Later,
electrical brain activity does not start until the end of week 5 and 6, that is, between 40 and 43 days of gestation . However, it is not a coherent activity; it is not even as coherent as the nervous system of a shrimp.

Week 8, neurons appear and spread throughout the brain

Despite this, for Gazzaniga (2015)
is between week 8 and 10 when the real development of the brain begins . Neurons proliferate and begin their migration throughout the brain. The anterior commissure, which is the first interhemispheric connection (a small connection), is also developed. During this period, reflexes appear for the first time.

The temporal and frontal poles of the brain develop between weeks 12 and 16 . The surface of the cortex appears flat during the third month, but at the end of the fourth month the grooves appear. The lobes of the brain emerge to themselves, and neurons continue to proliferate throughout the cortex (Gazzaniga, 2015).

Around week 13 the fetus starts to move . But the fetus is not yet a sensitive and conscious organism, but a kind of sea slug, a cluster of motor-sensory processes induced by reflex actions that do not correspond to anything in a directed or ordered way (Gazzaniga, 2015).

Week 17, first synapses

Already in week 17 numerous synapses are formed . Synaptic development does not start until about day 200 (week 28) of gestation. However, around the 23rd week the fetus can survive outside the uterus with medical assistance; at this stage the fetus can also respond to aversive stimuli.The most important synaptic development continues until the third or fourth month postnatal. By the 32nd week, the fetal brain controls breathing and body temperature .

It should be noted that when the child is born, the brain looks like that of an adult, but is far from complete. The cerebral cortex increases in complexity over the years, and synapse formation continues throughout life.

Some conclusions about life, the brain and the possibility of abortion

In conclusion, it can be said that if at the time of birth, the brain is still far from fulfilling its functions as we know them any adult,
the brain of a group of cells is not and will not be a brain that can develop , since as mentioned, it is not until the 23rd week that the product can survive, and only with the help of a specialized medical team.

In short, an adult’s brain is only so thanks to the fact that it has been able to develop in a context that provides it with the experiences to become a healthy and normal brain.

The debates and decisions of our lives should start being made and discussed from a scientific point of view and not from a religious, political or ignoring what happens inside our head.

Thanks to the understanding of the sciences, and specifically the neurosciences, it is now possible to make better decisions, and these will help us to eliminate blame, thanks to the systematized and rational knowledge to which scientific conclusions lead.

Bibliographic references:

  • Gazzaniga, M.(2015). The ethical brain. Spain: Paidós.
  • Pinel, J. (2011). Biopsychology. USA: Pearson.
  • Swaab, D. (2014). We are our brains. How we think, suffer and love. Spain: Plataforma Editorial.