McConnell: Pass the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act
‘Look in your hearts and help us stand up for the most innocent life, help us protect the beating heart in that sonogram.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor regarding the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act:
“Ask a family to show you the first picture of their child these days, and you’re likely to get a black-and-white image with delicate fingers and tiny toes.
“Maybe it’s their precious Christine. Maybe it’s their little guy Brett. But one thing’s for sure: that baby is their child.
“Scientific advances like the sonogram are helping pull back the curtain on the mystery of life. They’re helping foster a new spirit of compassionate protection for the most defenseless. And they’re providing new opportunities to bridge old political divides.
“We in this chamber are never going to agree completely on the abortion question. But we should at least be able to agree that if an unborn child has reached the point where he or she can feel pain, that child's life deserves protection.
“Science is telling us that a child can reach this stage around 20 weeks — in other words, 5 months — of development.
“This is when unborn children can react, even recoil, to stimuli an adult would recognize as painful.
“This is when doctors even administer fetal anesthesia during surgery.
“And as a New England Journal of Medicine study recently demonstrated, babies delivered at this age can survive outside the womb.
“So even if we differ on the larger abortion issue, can’t we at least agree that children at this late stage of development deserve our protection?
“The American people seem to think so. Polls show that Americans — American women and American men — oppose abortions after 5 months. The fact is that we are now one of just seven nations, like North Korea and China, that allow elective abortions at such a late stage.
“Can’t we do better as a country?
“The Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act would allow America to finally join the ranks of most civilized nations on this issue.
“Just this past weekend in Louisville, hundreds of Kentuckians gathered to spread a message of dignity and hope.
“They marched for those who may not meet them.
“They marched for those who may not hear them.
“But I hope Americans across the country – including participants in the 37th annual Walk for Life — will be encouraged to know that voices of humanity and respect are finally being heard again in a Senate under new leadership.
“The executive director of Kentucky Right to Life says that the issue before us is ‘critical.’
“‘We have worked tirelessly,’ she said, ‘to give these defenseless babies some protection.’
Several states have already taken action to protect these children.
“So has the House of Representatives.
“Now, it’s up to each of us to show where we stand.
“We’re seeing how science is changing this debate.
“So what I’m asking every colleague is this:
“Look in your hearts and help us stand up for the most innocent life, help us protect the beating heart in that sonogram.”
Related Issues: Defending Life
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