Bill Highlighting Unborn Child's Pain Introduced by Pro-Life Leaders in Congress.

WASHINGTON (May 31, 2004) - - Pro-life leaders in Congress, with the strong backing of National Right to Life, have introduced a major new legislative initiative that throws a spotlight on the pain inflicted on unborn children by abortion.

The Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act was introduced on May 20 by Senator Sam Brownback (R-Ks.) (S. 2466) and Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) (H.R. 4420), with numerous cosponsors.

NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson, who appeared with Brownback and Smith at a press conference in the U.S. Capitol announcing the new legislation, said, "There are numerous laws to prevent cruelty to domestic and wild animals, but no law to prevent well-developed unborn children from suffering excruciating pain as they are torn limb from limb or crushed during abortions."

This bill would require every abortionist to provide, whenever a woman seeks an abortion past 20 weeks after fertilization, specified information about the capacity of her unborn child to experience pain during the abortion. After receiving that information - - including the offer of a government-produced brochure - - the woman would sign a form either accepting or refusing the administration of pain-reducing drugs directly to the unborn child.

The bill contains a number of proposed congressional "findings" regarding the scientific evidence that unborn children would experience great pain during abortions at 20 weeks (and perhaps earlier).

Any abortion provider convicted of violating the law would face stringent civil and regulatory penalties, including suspension or revocation of the abortionist's medical license. In addition, a woman on whom an abortion was performed in knowing and reckless violation of this law would be empowered to sue for actual and punitive damages.

Congressman Smith explained, "The dilation and evacuation method of abortion, which is used in most second trimester abortions, involves the abortionist grasping the unborn child's body parts at random with a long-toothed clamp. The fetal body parts are then torn off of the body and pulled out of the mother. The remaining body parts are grasped and pulled out, one by one, until only the head remains. The head is then grasped and crushed in order to finally remove it from the mother."