The following news release was issued today, March 7.
ST. PAUL — Legislation to stop abortions after the point at which the unborn child can feel pain was introduced in the Minnesota Senate and House of Representatives today. The measure would prohibit the killing of innocent unborn children at 20 weeks from conception.
"For far too long, Minnesota's abortionists have been inflicting unconscionable suffering on unborn babies by killing them when they are already extraordinarily developed and pain-sensitive," explained Scott Fischbach, Executive Director of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL). "It is illegal to treat animals in such a brutal way; this bill will finally protect unborn children at 20 weeks and older from the torturous pain of abortion."
The Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, S.F. 649 and H.F. 936, is authored by Sen. Gretchen Hoffman, R-Vergas, and Rep. Mary Liz Holberg, R-Lakeville. The initiative is modeled after a law passed in Nebraska last year, which prohibits abortions after 20 weeks from conception. The Nebraska law has not been challenged in court by the abortion industry.
Overwhelming anatomical, behavioral and physiological evidence confirms that the developing unborn child is capable of experiencing tremendous pain by 20 weeks post-fertilization. This evidence did not exist when the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision removed all protections for unborn children and established abortion on demand through all nine months of pregnancy.
The most common abortion procedure used at 20 weeks is dilation and evacuation (D & E), which involves dismembering the unborn child. The abortionist uses forceps to tear apart the fetus in the womb, then reassembles the arms, legs, torso and head to ensure that no parts of the unborn child's body have been left inside the woman.
"People on both sides of the abortion debate should agree that the gratuitous suffering of the unborn child is incompatible with a humane and civilized society," Fischbach said. "MCCL calls upon all state legislators to support the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act."
MCCL is Minnesota's oldest and largest pro-life organization with more than 70,000 member families and 240 chapters across the state. For more information about MCCL, visit www.mccl.org.
