Ban on Brutal Dismemberment Abortions Approved by Pennsylvania House Committee

 Dismemberment Ban Previously Passed in the State Senate

National Right to Life

HARRISBURG, Pa. – Preborn babies would no longer have to undergo the gruesome practice of dismemberment abortion, under a bill approved by the Pennsylvania House Health Committee Monday.

The measure would also change the abortion limit in Pennsylvania from six months to five months gestation to reflect the changes in medical technology that allow doctors to save premature babies at increasingly earlier stages of development. The U.S. is one of only seven countries—including North Korea and Vietnam– that allow abortions after 20 weeks gestation.

“Dismemberment abortions occur when babies are ripped limb by limb from their mothers’ wombs,” said Maria Gallagher, Legislative Director of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, an affiliate of National Right to Life.

 “Innocent children should not be subjected to this inhumane practice, and mothers should not be left to grieve children lost to this outrageous procedure,” Gallagher added.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy once called a dismemberment abortion, “a procedure itself laden with the power to devalue human life .”

Senate Bill 3 previously passed the Pennsylvania Senate and is now awaiting action by the full House. The bill contains an exception to save the life of the mother.

 “A statewide poll showed that the vast majority of Pennsylvanians support a ban on brutal dismemberment abortions. In fact, the support was even higher among women,” said Gallagher. “A ban on this alarming practice is long overdue.”

Website: National Right to Life