Letter: Foetuses only react, they do not 'feel'

Wednesday 13 July 1994 23:02 BST

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Sir: Your provocative headline 'Abortion foetus 'can feel pain' ' (8 July) goes far beyond the work of the cited authors and will provoke unjustified alarm. All living plant and animal tissue reacts to damage.

The Lancet paper shows a specific example of that basic and universal phenomenon. Such a reaction is far removed from the miserable emotional response called 'pain'.

Yours sincerely,

P. D. WALL

Editorial Office

Pain Journal

London, WC1

8 July

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Letter: Foetuses only react, they do not 'feel'

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