BREAKING: U.S. House Votes to Ban Abortions After 20 Weeks

By Rebecca Downs
Live Action News

On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of Rep. Trent Franks Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would be an abortion ban after 20 weeks. Lawmakers passed the measure on a 237 to 189 vote.

Similar legislation passed the House in 2015, but the measure was then blocked in the U.S. Senate. Franks, who announced last month that the bill would go to the floor for a vote, said Democrats and Republicans should unite on a bill that provides a “bare minimum” protection for children.

“We can all agree a 20-week-old fetus who feels the torturous pain of being slashed, or cut in two, should not be killed,” Franks wrote.

Scientists have confirmed that children in the womb can feel pain at 20 weeks or earlier, and the pain they feel may be even more excruciating than pain experienced by adults because of the development of neurological mechanisms while in the womb.

Dr. Anthony Levatino, who committed over 1,200 abortions, describes the second trimester D&E abortion procedure below, during which a preborn child is dismembered limb from torso.

Congressman Ralph Abraham, who is also a doctor, described on the House floor why this abortion ban was necessary. He briefly explained how science knows children can feel pain in the womb:

The 20-week abortion ban is a step in the right direction, and the bill would save over 15,000 preborn lives annually. Numerous polls have shown that most Americans support a ban on late-term abortions, including a poll conducted by the pro-abortion Huffington Post. A Knights of Columbus/Marist poll reported that a majority of Americans also support heavily limiting abortions in generally.

Tragically, the United States is only one of seven nations — including North Korea and China — where elective abortions are permitted on demand past 20 weeks. The definition of “health” based on the legal standard of Doe v. Bolton includes even the physiological or emotional “wellbeing” of the mother, which essentially makes the definition so broad that restrictions on abortion are of no real effect.

Opponents of the bill claim abortions after 20 weeks are necessary when the mother’s life is at risk. However, it is misleading to claim that abortion is necessary in these scenarios, as modern medicine can be used to save both the mother’s and child’s life. Dr. Levatino explains below:

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