Press Conference - May 20, 2004

Introduction of the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act

As prepared for delivery

Doctors have learned that a baby in the womb has his own fingerprints, his own heartbeat, his own brainwaves, and yes even his own dreams.

And anyone who has seen an ultrasound or has had a baby knows that an unborn child responds to all types of stimulus.

A drink of cold water, for instance, is something a baby responds to.

It’s obvious to all of us here today that an unborn child not only responds to stimulus but feels pain.

The recent Partial Birth Abortion Ban trials have drawn new attention to this idea of the pain unborn children feel during an abortion. 

One doctor reported that during a partial birth abortion that, “in every one of these cases, upon contact of the needle with the fetal chest, I see a withdrawal response of the fetus, recoiling that I can see on the ultrasound.”

The American Civil Liberties Union went so far as to argue that testimony on fetal pain in relation to partial birth abortion was irrelevant partly because D&E abortion, involving dismemberment, is more painful than a partial birth abortion.

This is grotesque and is part of the hidden reality of abortion.

Women and their unborn children deserve better.

And that’s why we’re here.

A woman has the right to know the facts about the effects of her decision on her unborn child.

And they should be given the option to minimize or eliminate the pain an unborn child would feel during an abortion. 

A recent Zogby Poll found that 77 percent of the public favor "laws requiring that women who are 20 weeks or more along in their pregnancy be given information about fetal pain before having an abortion." 

Only 16% disagreed.

The legislation we are introducing today would require abortion providers to notify women who want to have an abortion 20 weeks after fertilization that the evidence suggests their unborn child feels pain and they have the option to obtain anesthesia for their unborn child before the abortion in order to reduce or eliminate the pain. 

As we learn more about the ability of unborn children to feel pain, we must take action to stop their suffering.

This legislation is one such action.

It’s humane, it’s reasonable, it’s long overdue.