Post by Logan on Mar 15, 2017 12:46:25 GMT -6
Montana bill says fetuses can feel pain, outlaws abortion after 20 weeks
HELENA — A state senator on Monday introduced a bill that that would prohibit the abortion of an unborn child that can feel pain.
The legislation, from Sen. Keith Regier, R-Kalispell, says a doctor may not perform, induce or attempt an abortion on a fetus capable of feeling pain unless it is necessary to prevent a serious health risk to the mother. The bill defines a fetus as being able to feel pain at 20 weeks.
“The need for this bill is brought by the increased scientific evidence abortion is painful for the unborn,” Regier told the Public Health, Welfare, and Safety Committee, which took no action on the bill Monday. “We have all heard stories of babies delivered between 20-30 weeks of development. They survived because they had all the body parts needed, all the physical structures necessary to experience pain have developed.”
The U.S. Supreme Court has said a woman has the right to choose an abortion before a fetus is considered viable, generally at 21-23 weeks. The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently struck down an Idaho law similar to Regier’s bill that banned abortions at 20 weeks, saying it categorically banned pre-viability abortions, according to a legal note attached to the bill.
Read more: billingsgazette.com/news/government-and-politics/bill-says-fetuses-can-feel-pain-outlaws-abortion-after-weeks/article_78ffd2c2-fc19-5644-939c-f3012a0a27a0.html
HELENA — A state senator on Monday introduced a bill that that would prohibit the abortion of an unborn child that can feel pain.
The legislation, from Sen. Keith Regier, R-Kalispell, says a doctor may not perform, induce or attempt an abortion on a fetus capable of feeling pain unless it is necessary to prevent a serious health risk to the mother. The bill defines a fetus as being able to feel pain at 20 weeks.
“The need for this bill is brought by the increased scientific evidence abortion is painful for the unborn,” Regier told the Public Health, Welfare, and Safety Committee, which took no action on the bill Monday. “We have all heard stories of babies delivered between 20-30 weeks of development. They survived because they had all the body parts needed, all the physical structures necessary to experience pain have developed.”
The U.S. Supreme Court has said a woman has the right to choose an abortion before a fetus is considered viable, generally at 21-23 weeks. The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently struck down an Idaho law similar to Regier’s bill that banned abortions at 20 weeks, saying it categorically banned pre-viability abortions, according to a legal note attached to the bill.
Read more: billingsgazette.com/news/government-and-politics/bill-says-fetuses-can-feel-pain-outlaws-abortion-after-weeks/article_78ffd2c2-fc19-5644-939c-f3012a0a27a0.html