Fetal pain and its bioethical considerations

Abstract

Medical and scientific advances have made it possible to carry out more and more early procedures involving human life within the mother's womb. Based on the above, the dilemma surrounding the perception or experience of fetal pain has emerged and its implications in various fields such as: prenatal diagnosis, fetal surgery and especially around abortion. This document seeks to carry out an approach to the embryological development of pain pathways and their components, to assess the relevance of the current definition of pain in this context, and the bioethical implications of the different interventions carried out on the fetus. We consider that despite the need for scientific evidence in this field, the available knowledge indicates that it is possible to experience pain in the mother's womb especially since the 20th week of gestation, so it is important to reflect on fetal pain and the need to become aware of this, before performing any intervention involving the fetus as a patient.