From Retraction Watch:
Pro-life activists have asked JAMA to retract a 2005 paper that suggested fetuses can’t feel pain before the third trimester.
Critics are arguing that newer findings have shown pain sensation appears earlier in gestation, yet the 2005 data continue to be cited in the discussion around abortion. What’s more, they note, some of the authors failed to mention their ties to the abortion industry.
The 2005 paper has been cited 191 times, according to Thomson Reuters Web of Science. We spoke with Howard Bauchner, Editor in Chief at JAMA and The JAMA Network, who told us something similar to what he said last week, when PETA asked to retract a paper they claim could be harmful to elephants:
…all requests for retraction are carefully evaluated. At this time we are reviewing the request as well as the references that were cited.
Reporting of Conflict of Interest has changed over the past 10 years, but nevertheless are evaluating that issue.
In a statement to the National Catholic Register, the president of “Just Facts” James Agresti asked JAMA to retract the paper, which he dubbed “the media’s go-to source for fetal pain.” More.
It must have taken some guts for Retraction Watch to even publish this. Deception is a common and widely, santimoniously supported feature of the abortion industry. I learned that as a much younger hack many years ago.
The internet has made many deceptions harder to sustain. Watch for some industry spokespeople to call for efforts to step up the persecution/prosecution of those who expose facts.
See also: The fetus is a parasite, abortion is like plucking out a hair: how much does Jerry Coyne really know about biology? (Vincent Torley)
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