The U.S. House of Representatives has passed historic legislation
banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy following exposure of horrific
late term abortion practices which included the killing of infants who survived
abortion. According to bill sponsor Rep. Trent Franks, passage of the bill
marks "the first time in either chamber in the United States Congress that
we've given affirmative protection to unborn children in the history of the
United States."
H.R. 1797, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act relies on
research demonstrating that the unborn child can experience pain by at least 20
weeks gestation. During hearings on the legislation, the science of fetal pain
was examined. The first evidence of fetal pain was published in 1980 and has
expanded ever since.
In a 2012 hearing, Dr. Colleen A. Malloy, Assistant Professor,
Division of Neonatology at Northwestern University testified that the care of infants born prematurely, as early as 20 weeks
gestation, includes the treatment of pain: "the difference between fetal
and neonatal pain is simply the locale in which the pain occurs. The receiver's
experience of the pain is the same. I could never imagine subjecting my tiny
patients to horrific procedures such as those that involve limb detachment or
cardiac injection." Dr. Maureen Condic, Associate Professor of
Neurobiology, testified that the unborn child can react to pain as early as
8-10 weeks.
During two separate House floor debates on the bill, pro-life
Members gave impassioned pleas to protect children in the womb from the painful
and violent methods of abortion, pointing out that anesthesia is used during
surgeries on children in the womb who are at the same age as preborn children
who are killed by brutal late term abortion methods and who are not given any
medication to prevent them from experiencing horrific pain.
Congressman Chris Smith, co-chair of the Congressional Pro-Life
Caucus, spoke of the medical evidence: "Surgeons entering the womb to
perform corrective procedures on unborn children have seen those babies flinch,
jerk and recoil from sharp objects and incisions. Ultrasound technology shows
unborn babies at 20 weeks post-fertilization and earlier react physically to
outside stimuli such as sound, light and touch. Surgeons routinely administer
anesthesia to unborn children in the womb before performing lifesaving
surgeries, and this has been associated with a decrease in the baby's stress
hormone levels during the medical procedure."
Pro-life congresswomen spoke passionately of the need to
protect children from pain and presented the findings ofrecent polls that
show 64% of the public would support a law prohibiting abortion after 20 weeks
if it was established that the child is capable of feeling pain at this
time and if the life of the mother was not in danger. 80% would support such a
ban in the third trimester.
Congresswomen
Marsha Blackburn managed
final passage of the bill and spoke about changing American attitudes about
late-term abortion urging Members to support the legislation stating, "A
vote in favor is a vote for human decency and public health safety."
Congresswoman Wagner argued, "As science and technology
continue to advance, we are changing hearts and mind. It is not only the pain
of the child we must consider, but also the pain of the mother. Everyone talks
about the right to choose, but no one discusses the implications of that
choice. I am for life at all stages. I am for the life of the baby, and I am
also for the life of the mother. I will continue to work for a day when
abortion is not only illegal, but absolutely unthinkable."
You tube videos of the speeches by pro-life Members can be viewed
on this specially created website.
The legislation allows exceptions for rape and incest and if
enacted would reverse the current status of the US as one of the most extreme
pro-abortion countries in the world. Of the 56 countries that allow abortion on
demand, most have time limits in place restricting unlimited access to abortion
to anywhere from 8 to 18 weeks gestation. Yet, according to legal
research by Americans United for Life, "the
United States is the most lenient in its treatment of abortion, placing it in
the company of China, North Korea, and Canada, the only countries in the world
that permit abortion for any reason after viability."
H.R. 1797 passed by a vote of 228-196 along party lines with six
Democrats supporting the bill and 6 Republicans against it, including two
Members from Georgia who opposed the addition of exceptions for rape and
incest. All major pro-life organizations supported the legislation with
National Right to Life adding the vote to its scorecard of
Members. Pro-life leaders are now calling on Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid
to allow a vote in the Democrat-controlled Senate.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, President of the SBA List urged, "This
pro-woman, pro-science, Constitutional bill deserves an immediate vote in the
U.S. Senate. It's simple: children capable of experiencing unimaginable pain
from abortion must be protected across the country." Charmaine Yoest,
President and CEO of Americans United for Life declared, "Now the
members of the U.S. Senate should stand with the women of America protect women
and unborn, infant children, from dangerous, later-term procedures."
While a vote in the
Senate is
doubtful, President Obama was quick to assure pro-abortion activists that he
would veto the bill if it were to arrive at this desk.
PNCI would like to recognize the deep pro-life convictions
and heart-felt eloquence of Rep. Trent Franks whose pro-life leadership was the
focus of a moving article 'Trent
Franks, Pro-Life Warrior'. During
the interview, Franks discusses the motivation for his pro-life leadership
in the U.S. Congress, "What motivates me, what makes me feel good, is that
when I am lying down in the lonely moments of an old-age home, I want to be
able to look back and say, 'I think there are children out there somewhere
having a better time in life and laying hold of the miracle of it all because I
got to be here.'"
The tribute ends, "Regardless of what the future brings,
Franks is determined to do what he can to prevent abortions. He thinks about
what his four-year-old twins will say when they are older and become aware of
how many have died in abortion. He wants to be able to tell them he did
something about it. And he contemplates how history will judge the United
States for permitting abortion."
Thank you, Rep. Trent Franks, for all your actions
"to do something about it" to save the lives of babies and for
your inspiration to legislators around the world who work to advance respect
for life through law and policy.