We each started when a living egg and a living sperm united to form a unique cell with all the instructions needed to create the diverse tissues of a new human body. Join us for a crash course in the growth of the preborn to learn how we all changed from one cell into an organism that could reason, remember and relate to others. We will specifically look at fertilization, the development of pain systems, and how the human brain grows from conception through infancy. Dr. Furth connects the physical changes in the brain to the evidence on the earliest capabilities of the fetus. Lessons learned from studying brain growth can be employed to inform pro-life bioethics and advocacy.

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT "FETAL PAIN AND THE PREBORN BRAIN"

"I know nothing about science and the vast majority of this talk made sense! It was really cool to learn about the developmental stages by week of the fetus. Thank you!"

"Really liked and appreciated the talk! It was great because of the factual tone and it was apolitical; based on logic, not emotion. I found it all understandable as long as I was concentrating :-)"

"Really good: I liked the anecdote about the baby who was able to survive despite the expectation that he did not have the capacity to live - it highlighted the fact that there is a grey area around the age of viability."

Dr. Katrina Furth is an associate scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute in Washington, DC, which promotes science and statistics for pro-life causes. She specializes in communicating science concepts with non-scientific audiences and is the lead author of the VoyageofLife.com website. Since graduating with a PhD in Neuroscience from Boston University, she has worked as an adjunct professor at Catholic University in Washington, DC. Dr. Furth enjoys educating scientists and non-scientists alike about fetal development and has presented expert legislative testimony, seminars and talks concerning milestones in heart and brain growth. She believes that as people come to understand more about embryonic and fetal development, they will be more likely to support life-affirming policies. Dr. Furth also enjoys working with teen moms through a ministry called YoungLives. She currently resides in Washington DC with her husband and four children.