More on "The Silent Scream"

People can't seem to understand that "The Silent Scream" is fake. A fake, lying piece of propaganda used to control people's emotions.

Unfortunately, the real authorities- doctors, medical professionals- don't even think The Silent Scream is worth their time. There's no direct mention of it that I can find in my google search. However, I have come across a couple things.

An article found on this site talks about a woman named Patricia Jaworski who wrote a documentary after researching the facts of brain development. She included four leading brain researchers in her documentary. Overall conclusion: The Silent Scream is false.

In fact, asserts neurologist and neuroscientist Dr. Dominick Purpura, former dean of the Stanford University School of Medicine, and current dean at Albert Einstein School of Medicine, before the 28th week of development the cortex lacks sufficient axons, dendrites and synapses to sustain the processes of thought, feeling and awareness the documentary deems necessary for "personhood."

Now, don't get caught up in the personhood deal. I'm not making a comment one way or the other (at least not in this post).

There is another article which mentions the neuroscientists and their opinions on fetal brain development. However, it seems to have a purpose other than just the silent scream so I will not quote it here.


Here again are some of the claims made in The Silent Scream disproven:

CLAIM: The 12-week fetus makes purposeful movements (e.g., agitated movement in an attempt to avoid suction cannula).

FACTS: At this stage of pregnancy, all fetal movement is reflexive in nature rather than purposeful, since the latter requires cognition, which is the ability to perceive and know. For cognition to occur, the cortex (gray matter covering the brain) must be present, as well as myelinization (covering sheath) of the spinal cord and attached nerves, which is not the case.
An example of the reflex withdrawal without pain occurs in an anencephalic (absent brain) newborn. Another known example of the reflex movement at this stage of human pregnancy is thumb sucking in utero.

What is termed "frantic activity" by the fetus is a reflex response of the fetus resulting from movement of the uterus and its contents induced by operator manipulation of the suction curette or the ultrasound transducer on the abdomen. This same type of response would likely occur with any external stimulus. A one-cell organism such as an amoeba will reflexively move or display a withdrawal reaction when touched.

In addition, experts in ultrasonography and film technology have concluded that the videotape of the abortion was deliberately slowed down and subsequently speeded up to create an impression of hyperactivity.

CLAIM: Ultrasonogram depicts the open mouth of the fetus.

FACTS: The mouth of the fetus cannot be identified in the ultrasound image with certainty. The statement that the screen identifies the open mouth of the fetus is a subjective and misleading interpretation by Dr. Nathanson. His conclusion is not supportable.

CLAIM: The fetus emits "the silent scream."

FACTS: A scream cannot occur without air in the lungs. Although primitive respiratory movements do occur in the later stages of gestation, crying or screaming cannot occur even then. In fact, a child born prematurely at 26–27 weeks' gestation (24–25 weeks' fetal age) cannot scream but occasionally emits weak cries.

CLAIM: A fetus is indistinguishable from any of the rest of us.

FACTS: A fetus of 12 weeks cannot in any way be compared to a fully formed functioning person. At this stage only rudiments of the organ systems are present. The fetus is unable to sustain life outside the woman's womb, it is incapable of conscious thought; it is incapable of essential breathing. It is instead an in utero fetus with the potential of becoming a child.

CLAIM: Fetal head at 12 weeks requires the use of "crushing instruments" for extraction.

FACTS: At 12 weeks' gestation (10 weeks' fetal age) and even 1–2 weeks beyond, instrumentation other than a suction cannula is not required when abortion is properly performed. Cannulas for aspiration abortion come in varying sizes, and the larger sizes are adequate for withdrawing the contents of the uterus.

In the end, I cannot believe how anyone can think The Silent Scream is anything but a lie.