Since there is substantial medical evidence that an unborn child is capable of experiencing pain at least by 20 weeks after fertilization, this measure asserts a compelling governmental interest in protecting unborn children from this stage.
Similar measures were previously introduced in both the 112th and 113th Congresses, but did not become law.
House: On January 6, 2015, Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) re-introduced the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (H.R. 36), with Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) as the lead co-sponsor. The bill has 184 co-sponsors and was referred the Judiciary Committee. H.R. 36 is identical to the measure passed by the House in 2013.
On the bill’s introduction, Rep. Franks stated that the measure “seeks to afford basic protection to mothers and their unborn babies entering the sixth month of gestation.” Rep Blackburn added, “We have a moral obligation to end dangerous late-term abortions in order to protect women and these precious babies from criminals like Kermit Gosnell and others who prey on the most vulnerable in our society.”
A modified version of H.R. 36 was proposed by Rep. Franks in early May.
Floor: It was anticipated that the House would vote on H.R. 36 in January. But the vote was postponed to a later date.
On May 13, 2015, H.R. 36 was brought to the House floor for consideration. A motion to recommit the bill back to committee and add a “health” exception was defeated by a vote of 181-246 (Roll Call 222). The House then passed the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (H.R. 36), 242-yes, 184-no, 1-present, 5-not voting (Roll Call 223).
The focus now turns to the Senate.
Letter to Congress: In a January 20 letter to Representatives, Seán Cardinal O’Malley, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, urged support for the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (H.R. 36) introduced by Reps. Franks and Blackburn on January 6. The conviction in 2013 of Dr. Kermit Gosnell for crimes committed while providing abortions has “led many Americans to realize that our permissive laws and attitudes have allowed the abortion industry to undertake these procedures.” People are repulsed “by the callous and barbarous treatment of women and children in Gosnell’s clinic, and in other clinics that abort children after 20 weeks.”
Some children in Gosnell’s clinic, the Cardinal continues, were “born alive and crying or screaming in pain, until their lives were intentionally and deliberately ended.” These procedures also pose serious dangers to women, “as evidenced by Gosnell’s own manslaughter conviction for one woman’s death, and news about the death or serious complications of other women undergoing such procedures.”
Many women were sent to Gosnell by other abortion clinics. The Cardinal asks: “What does it say about us as a nation, if we will not act against abortions that even full-time abortionists find abhorrent?” The Cardinal concludes: “On behalf of our country and the children whose lives are at stake, I urge you to support the common-sense reform offered by H.R. 36 and to oppose all weakening amendments.” See: nchla.org/datasource/idocuments/LtrHR36.15.pdf.
Background: In the 112th Congress (2012), this measure was introduced as the District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. Considered under suspension of the rules in the House, the bill received majority support but fell short of the two thirds vote required by the rule for passage.
In the 113th Congress (2013), the measure was amended in House Judiciary Committee to be national in scope and was re-named the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (H.R. 1797). The bill was further amended in House Rules Committee. On June 18, 2013, the House passed H.R. 1797 but the Senate took no action.
In the House-passed bill, Congress found “there is substantial medical evidence that an unborn child is capable of experiencing pain at least by 20 weeks after fertilization, if not earlier” and asserts “a compelling governmental interest” in protecting unborn children from this stage (Sec. 2 (11)(12)). The bill would amend the U.S. Code to make it unlawful to perform or attempt to perform an abortion if the probable post-fertilization age of the unborn child is 20 weeks or greater. Exceptions were made if the abortion is necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman or the pregnancy is the result of rape or the result of incest against a minor (the rape having been reported to a law enforcement agency or the incest reported to a law enforcement agency or other government agency authorized to act on reports of child abuse or neglect). The bill would bar prosecution of the woman.
