Does a fetus feel pain? (And, if so, when?)

It’s an interesting question, partly because the definition of “pain” is subject to shades of meaning. (Is a spinal-reflex response to move away from an irritation pain, itch, pressure, or none of the above?).

But as @fuzzyfungus points out, no answer will change any minds in the societal arguments over the abortion issue… because the real issue is that the very concept hurts the brains of the folks who object to letting folks make their own decisions.

It MIGHT affect a few individual decisions. But I suspect that the percentage for whom that could be the deciding factor is fairly small… especially since there are technical solutions to make it moot.