On First Day In Session, Congress Introduces Abortion-Restriction Bill
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The newly sworn-in and returning members of the now Republican-dominated Congress wasted no time on Wednesday, January 7th — their first day in session — in introducing a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of gestational age.
The proposed national bill would conflict with abortion rights as outlined in Roe v. Wade.
The bill, known as the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, successfully passed the Republican-controlled House last year. Now that Republicans control both the House and the Senate, Congressional leaders are making this bill a major legislative priority for the new year.
Representative Trent Franks (R-AZ), one of the bill’s co-sponsors, said in a statement on Tuesday, “These are innocent and defenseless children who can not only feel pain, but who can survive outside of the womb in most cases, and who are torturously killed without even basic anesthesia.”
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The concept of fetal pain, however, in a fetus of 20-weeks or less has yet to be proven scientifically. A 2005 study concluded that a fetus cannot feel pain until late into the third trimester. The same study showed that the parts of the brain that process pain do not begin to function in a fetus until at least 28 weeks, or at the beginning of the third trimester.
Furthermore, research published in Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health points out that no fetus delivered before 21-weeks has ever survived. Additionally, “at 23 weeks, 12.5 percent of delivered babies survive without disabilities; at 25 weeks, 27.5 percent survive with no disabilities.”
Last year, Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) introduced a similar fetal pain-based abortion ban bill in the Senate, which was blocked by Democrats. Representatives for Graham have said that he plans to re-introduce this bill this session.
While speaking at the National Right to Life Conference this fall, new Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that “under my leadership, we would have the kind of real debate on the issues that the American people want. For six years, the president has been isolated from this growing movement. He will be forced to listen to the cause [of abortion bans].”
Related: Over 50% Of Women Now Live In States Hostile To Abortion
Counters Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund in a statement, ““The public wants Congress to protect women’s health, not interfere in women’s personal medical decisions – which means making sure all forms of birth control are affordable, women can get preventive care at Planned Parenthood and other trusted providers, and abortion remains safe and legal. As a country, we’ve made tremendous progress in reducing teen pregnancy and expanding opportunity for women through access to reproductive health care. We need to keep moving forward on women’s health, not go backward.
"Congress has only been back for a couple of days, and already some politicians are trying to take women backwards and restricting their access to the health care that helps them and their families succeed. At Planned Parenthood Action Fund, our top priority is making sure that every woman, no matter where she lives, can make her own personal, private health care decisions without interference from politicians. We’ll continue to fight these attacks on women’s health wherever they arise — in state capitols, in court, and in Congress.”
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