U.S. Senate rejects banning late-term abortions of babies who feel pain

lifesitenews.com

The U.S. Senate effectively voted this afternoon against banning late-term abortions on most five-month-old babies who can feel pain, with 46 out of 97 senators voting to continue debate on the bill, thus not allowing the Senate to vote on the bill itself. 

The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, would prohibit abortions on babies from the age of 20 weeks (22 weeks gestation) onward based on the science of fetal pain. 

The bill had flaws, allowing babies conceived in rape or incest to be aborted regardless of their ability to feel pain.

At 20 weeks, an unborn baby is the size of a small cantaloupe. Mothers can feel their babies kicking. When they are operated on in the womb at this age, it’s standard medical practice to give the babies anesthesia.

However, it’s still legal to dismember them in violent, painful abortions. According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2013 there were at least 5,770 late-term abortions in the U.S. on babies older than 20 weeks. 

Had the bill passed the Senate and been presented to President Trump, “his advisors would recommend that he sign the bill into law,” his office said in a January 29 statement.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, the President of the Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List), said the vote forced Senators “to either stand with the majority of Americans who want to end cruel late-term abortions, or with the radical abortion lobby seeking to maintain abortion on-demand until the moment of birth.”

“Voting to keep the brutality of late-term abortion legal isn’t just morally abhorrent, it defies national consensus and is a major political liability,” she said.

Sen. Doug Jones, the Alabama Democrat who beat Roy Moore for the state’s open Senate seat, voted against.

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-IA, gave an impassioned floor speech describing fetal development milestones that occur around 20 weeks in the womb. These babies have “grown nails on their fingers and on their toes. Hair has just begun to grow on their heads,” she said. “These babies can detect light, hear sounds – they can swallow and even experience taste as their taste buds grow and develop.”

Ernst showed her colleagues side-by-side images of Micah Pickering. One photo shows baby Micah, born prematurely at five months and grasping his parents’ hands. The other shows him now, a healthy five-year-old boy.

Babies “even younger than Micah” have been born prematurely and survived, explained Ernst. “Despite the clear evidence of the humanity of these children, the U.S. is one of only seven countries...in the world to allow abortions after five months of development.”...

‘Nuclear option’ not used

The 46 senators who voted against the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, were actually voting against ending debate on the bill. Had 60 senators voted to end debate on the bill, the Senate could have actually voted on the bill itself. But Senate rules make it impossible to vote on a bill unless 60 senators agree that the vote should take place. Therefore pro-life groups typically score votes such as the procedural one today as votes in favor of or against late-term abortion.

With 51 votes, the Senate could have changed the rules like they did for approving the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. The use of this “nuclear option” would have allowed the Senate to then pass the Pain-Capable bill.

“Unless Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate leadership ‘nuke’ the democratic filibuster, the bill is almost certain to die,” the American Family Association (AFA) wrote in an action alert.