Women deserve right to informed choiceMothers should know about pain felt by unborn child

U.S. Rep. John Boozman (R-AR) announced his co-sponsorship of legislation which provides expectant mothers with important information on the health of their unborn child. The “Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act,” offered by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), would require abortion providers to notify women seeking an abortion after 20 weeks that their unborn child may feel pain, and allow mothers to request anesthesia for their unborn child to reduce or eliminate pain caused by the abortion process. “This is common-sense legislation which will provide mothers with important information while they make the choice on whether to have an abortion, or not,” Boozman said. “As a medical professional, I know the importance of having all the available information before choosing a course of action.”

Boozman noted that the partial-birth abortion ban trials leading up to the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the ban have drawn new attention to the pain that unborn children feel during an abortion. In expert testimony during those trials, Dr. Kanwaljeet Anand, Director of the Pain Neurobiology Lab at the Arkansas Children’s Hospital Research Institute explained, “the human fetus possesses the ability to experience pain from 20 weeks of gestation, if not earlier, and the pain perceived by a fetus is possibly more intense that that perceived by term newborns or older children.”

“The unborn child feels pain after 20 weeks. This is information every mother should have so that they may make a more informed choice,” Boozman, a member of the Bipartisan Congressional Pro-Life Caucus said. “In this regard, we must respect the advancement of scientific knowledge and research. It makes sense to offer the ability, at 20 weeks and beyond, to give mothers the knowledge needed to understand that, and offer the opportunity to choose to give anesthesia to remedy that situation.”

The “Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act” was first introduced in the 109th Congress, and was co-sponsored by Boozman. It was considered under a suspension of the rules, requiring a two-thirds majority to pass. In December 2006, the bill garnered 250 votes, a majority, but below the two-thirds threshold. “It is important to note a bipartisan majority voted to give America’s mothers the capability of being more fully informed as to the health of their unborn child,” Boozman said. “Women deserve to be given the right to an informed choice. I call on the House leadership to allow this measure to come to the floor for a vote.”

In the last year, Boozman has co-sponsored and called for passage of several pro-life pieces of legislation, including: the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, giving parents the right to know when their child is taken across a state line to undergo the abortion procedure; the Pregnant Women Support Act, providing resources, including health insurance, which enable pregnant women to choose life; and the Post Abortion Research and Care Act, providing funds for the National Institutes of Health to research the emotional impact of abortion on women. [Source]

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Tags: Arkansas, child pain, John Boozman, Republican, unborn, Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act, US House