MANILA, June 19, 2013—In a symbolic victory for US based Pro-Lifers the United States’ 13th Congress has voted 228-196 in favor of the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (H.R. 1797).
The Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act would prohibit abortion after 20 weeks from fertilization in order to protect pain-capable unborn children from excruciating deaths.
Dr. Paul Ranalli, a neurologist at the University of Toronto revealed that pain receptors are present throughout the unborn child’s entire body by no later than 16 weeks after fertilization, and nerves link these receptors to the brain’s thalamus and subcortical plate by no later than 20 weeks.
Ranalli said that for an unborn child in 20 weeks is a “uniquely vulnerable time, since the pain system is fully established, yet the higher level pain-modifying system has barely begun to develop. As a result, unborn babies at this age probably feel pain more intensely than adults.”
Last April 26, Rep. Trent Franks of Arizona introduced the bill which he admitted will go through rough sailing.
Days before its passage US President Obama showed signs that he would veto the bill. The White House issued statements that the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act is ‘an assault on a woman’s right to choose.’ Adding on separate occasion, that ‘shows contempt for women’s health and rights.’
Franks added, “The last time Congress passed a bill of this scope, the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003. That bill fell short and faced court battles before it finally became law.”
“I think if you hearken back to partial-birth abortion … everybody said you know, it’s not constitutional, it can’t pass, it can’t go anywhere, and it took time to do that and it even had to succeed a presidential veto. But it eventually did,” Franks said.
Dr. Robert J. White a neurosurgeon from Case Western Reserve University indicated, “Without question, [abortion at 20 weeks] is a dreadfully painful experience for any infant subjected to such a surgical procedure.”
The bill is expected to be ratified by the US Senate before it will be transmitted to Washington unless vetoed by the president’s signature before it becomes law. (Paul De Guzman)
