Dear Friend,
We are pleased that H.R. 36, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, passed in the U.S. House of Representatives last week on October 3, by a vote of 237-189. It is now in the Senate.
We praise God that President Trump has stated that he will sign this bill into law if it makes it through the Senate!
CWA of Louisiana commends our U.S. Representatives Ralph Abraham (R-District 5), Steve Scalise (R-District 1), Mike Johnson (R-District 4), and Clay Higgins (R-District 3) for co-sponsoring H.R. 36.
We are proud that the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act passed in our state legislature on June 6, 2016, and was signed by then-governor, Bobby Jindal. It’s now time for our nation to do the same!
We have spoken to the offices of both U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy, and they both confirmed that they plan to vote for H.R. 36 if it comes up for a vote in the Senate.
Please take action:
- Contact both of our U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy’s offices. Ask them to both advocate and vote for H.R. 36. Click here for their contact information. Be sure to tell them that you are a member of Concerned Women for America of Louisiana.
- Contact the offices of U.S. Reps. Ralph Abraham (R-District 5), Steve Scalise (R-District 1), Mike Johnson (R-District 4), and Clay Higgins (R-District 3). Thank them for supporting life by co-sponsoring H.R. 36. Click here to find their contact information. Be sure to tell them that you are a member of Concerned Women for America of Louisiana.
Please pray: This bill faces an uphill battle in the Senate. Please pray that those in opposition will be thwarted.
About H.R. 36:
- The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act protects unborn children after 20-weeks’ gestation (five months) based on the scientific fact that they feel pain.
- H.R. 36 protects unborn children from abortion and protects women from the risks of a late-term abortion.
- The risk of abortion complications during weeks 12-13 is between 3-6%, and spikes to 50% + once a woman reaches her second trimester.
- At 20-weeks’ gestation, a human’s neural pain system is fully developed. However, the higher-level pain-modifying system has not yet fully developed, and the unborn child does not have the coping systems needed to deal with pain. Therefore, babies at 20 weeks will not only feel pain from an abortion but will feel pain more intensely than most adults would likely experience.
- Additionally, corrective surgery performed on an unborn child at 20 weeks causes the child to flinch and recoil from pain. Children who receive in-utero surgery benefit from the anesthesia given to the mother.
- The most common abortion for a child at this gestation is a D&E (dismemberment and evacuation) abortion, which literally tears the child apart. Abortionists have testified before Congress that D&E requires a doctor to count limbs to ensure the entire body has been evacuated from the mother’s uterus.
- Twenty states have already enacted this legislation; H.R. 36 would make this policy nationwide.
- The United States is one of just seven countries that allow elective abortions after 20 weeks (the top 4% most permissive on abortion policy). The other six countries are Canada, China, the Netherlands, North Korea, Singapore, and Vietnam.
- A nationwide consensus on when an elective abortion should no longer be legal is not a radical policy. The issue of pain is popular among Americans, including pro-choice Americans, and is popular with women. A January 2017 Marist poll showed 60% of Americans, including 62% of Americans who identify as pro-choice, support a 20-week limit. This poll found that 60% of women and 63% of men are supportive of this policy.
- Detailed Summary of H.R. 36 from Congress.gov
- “This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime for any person to perform or attempt to perform an abortion if the probable post-fertilization age of the fetus is 20 weeks or more.
- “A violator is subject to criminal penalties — a fine, up to five years in prison, or both.
- “The bill provides exceptions for an abortion: (1) that [it] is necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman, or (2) when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. A physician who performs or attempts to perform an abortion under an exception must comply with specified requirements.
- “A woman who undergoes a prohibited abortion may not be prosecuted for violating or conspiring to violate the provisions of this bill.”
Blessings,
Sancha Noel Smith
State Director
CWA of Louisiana
director@louisiana.cwfa.org
la.cwfa.org
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