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Oklahoma House
Passes Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act By Dave Andrusko
On Wednesday, Oklahoma moved one important step closer to becoming the second state to enact a law that would ban abortions of babies 20 weeks or older, based on strong scientific evidence that these children can feel pain. House Bill 1888, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, passed by a vote of 94-2 -- a “mandate,” in the words of National Right to Life Committee Director of State Legislation Mary Spaulding Balch. The bill now goes to the state Senate. The bill is modeled after Nebraska’s historic “Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.” “We believe Oklahoma has a compelling state interest in protecting the lives of unborn babies who are capable of feeling pain, and we think the U.S. Supreme Court will agree,” said Oklahomans For Life Chairman Tony Lauinger. Oklahoma joins Kansas in having passed such a measure this session in at least one House. On February 24, Kansas’’ House of Representative passed HB 2218, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, 91-30. “People on both sides of the abortion debate should agree that gratuitous suffering of an unborn child is really incompatible with a decent and humane society,” Rep. Pam Peterson (R-Tulsa), the bill's author, said in an interview with oknews.com. “That's what this bill does; it shows the humanness of that unborn child.” Under the bill, abortionists would be required to determine the baby’s age before proceeding with an abortion. Balch said that just before the bill was brought up for consideration, Rep. Peterson made available to each of the legislators an ultrasound of a 20-week unborn baby that they could watch on their computers. “It brought home the reality of the living unborn child in a clear and unambiguous way, Balch said. Eight other states have comparable bills. In addition to Oklahoma and Kansas, there is Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Minnesota, and Oregon. Georgia was holding hearings yesterday and today. I need your feedback on both Today's News & Views and National Right to Life News Today. Please send your comments to daveandrusko@gmail.com. If you like, join those who are following me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/daveha. |
