Let Mothers Know about Fetal Pain

This week, I call on my friends both Democrat and Republican to do away with emotion, look at the science, and pass H.R. 6099, the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act. We have a distinct opportunity Wednesday morning. We have an opportunity to pass common-sense legislation: letting mothers who request an abortion after 20 weeks get all the information of their decision, including the fact their unborn baby will feel pain – and ask the mother is she would like anesthesia for the child.

It is ironic we legislate humane treatment of animals we slaughter, but we do not offer the same for innocent unborn children. This legislation does not restrict the right of a mother to abort her child and has the support of pro-abortion groups such as NARAL. A widely-published neonatal expert who practices in my home state, Dr. Sunny Anand, says an unborn child begins feeling pain by 20 weeks after gestation or earlier, and that a fetus from 20 to 32 weeks old would experience a more intense pain than children or adults.

If you take the emotion out of it and use the science, it’s really pretty evident that these little individuals can feel pain. I urge my colleagues in the House to whole-heartedly support this legislation and pass it, so the Senate may take up its consideration before the end of the 109th Congress.