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What appears immediately below is the text of remarks made by Congressman
Chris Smith (R-NJ) on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on May
20, 2004, after introducing the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act (H.R. 4420).
Abortion is Excruciatingly Painful to Unborn Children
In expert testimony provided to the Northern District of the US District
Court in California on April 15 during the Partial-Birth Abortion trials,
Dr. Sunny Anand, Director of the Pain Neurobiology Laboratory at Arkansas
Children's Hospital Research Institute explained, "the human fetus possesses
the ability to experience pain from 20 weeks of gestation, if not earlier,
and the pain perceived by a fetus is possibly more intense than that
perceived by term newborns or older children."
Dr. Anand further described before the court that, "The highest density of
pain receptors per square inch of skin in human development occurs in utero
from 20 to 30 weeks gestation. During this period, the epidermis is still
very thin, leaving nerve fibers closer to the surface of the skin than in
older neonates and adults." He went on to explain that, "...the pain
inhibitory mechanisms (fibers which dampen and modulate the experience of
pain) do not begin to develop until 32-34 weeks of gestation. Thus, a fetus
at 20-32 weeks of gestation would experience a much more intense pain than
older infants or children or adults, when these age groups are subjected to
similar types of injury or handling..."
He also pointed out that on the question of fetal consciousness, "More that
3 decades of research shows that preterm infants are actively perceiving
learning, and organizing information, and are constantly striving to
regulate themselves, their environment and their experiences. All preterm
infants actively approach and favor experiences that are developmentally
supporting and actively avoid experiences that are developmentally
disruptive."
So today, Senator Brownback and I are introducing the Unborn Child Pain
Awareness Act. The Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act would require that those
performing abortions at or beyond the 20-week point, provide the mother with
certain information regarding the capacity of the unborn child to experience
pain during the abortion, and offer the mother the option of having
pain-reducing drugs administered directly to the unborn child to reduce his
or her pain.
Specific Provisions:
Before an abortion involving a pain capable child
begins, the abortionist must provide to the woman:
- an oral statement that says Congress has determined that at this stage of
development an unborn child has the physical structures to feel pain and
than an abortion would likely cause pain to the unborn child. Therefore, she
has THE OPTION of choosing to have anesthesia administered directly to the
unborn child if she so desires in order to reduce or eliminate pain.
- a brochure that has more detailed information on her option to have
pain-reducing drugs for the unborn child.
The bill language specifically ensures the abortion provider's right to
inform the woman of any risks to her according to his or her best medical
judgment.
An abortion provider who does not comply with the provisions in the bill
would be subject to civil penalties.
The penalty for the first offense would be a suspension of medical license
and/or a civil penalty less than $100,000. For a second offense the penalty
would be revocation of medical license and/or a civil penalty less than
$250,000.
In addition, a woman on whom an abortion was performed in a knowing and
reckless violation of this law would have a private right of action for
actual and punitive damages.
The recent Partial-Birth Abortion Ban trials have cut through the denial and
drawn new attention to the pain that unborn children feel during an
abortion. Even the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has conceded that
unborn children feel pain during abortion. In a February Motion to Exclude
Evidence Regarding Fetal Pain in the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban trials the
ACLU went so far as to argue that testimony on fetal pain in relation to
partial birth abortion was irrelevant partly because dilation and evacuation
abortion, involving dismemberment, is more painful than a partial birth
abortion.
So the question isn't whether unborn babies suffer pain during an abortion,
but how much. In their own words, the ACLU motion conceded:
"Dr. Anand admitted under oath that a dilation and evacuation procedure
involving dismemberment--an abortion procedure that Defendant claims falls
outside the scope of the Act -- is more painful than a dilation and
extraction procedure involving intact delivery... In light of this
concession that an assertedly legal procedure is more painful than the one
the statute purportedly bans, Defendant has no basis for contending that
fetal pain is an interest advanced by the Act."
I happen to agree with the ACLU's contention that the method of abortion
called Dilation and Evacuation causes incredible pain, maybe even more pain
than a Partial-Birth Abortion. The Dilation and Evacuation method of
abortion, which is used in most second trimester abortions, involves the
abortionist grasping the unborn child's body parts at random with a
long-toothed clamp. The fetal body parts are then torn off of the body and
pulled out of the mother. The remaining body parts are grasped and pulled
out, one by one, until only the head remains. The head is then grasped and
crushed in order to finally remove it from the mother.
It takes 30 minutes from beginning to end.
We don't even allow livestock to be treated that way in this country.
Congress requires pain to be minimized when livestock are slaughtered, and
has numerous provisions to prevent pain in laboratory animals, but nothing
for unborn human beings. Section 2 of the Humane Slaughter Act (7 U.S.C.
1902) states:
''No method of slaughter or handling in connection with slaughtering shall
be deemed to comply with the public policy of the United States unless it is
humane. Either of the following two methods of slaughtering and handling are
hereby found to be humane: (i) in the case of cattle, calves, horses, mules,
sheep, swine, and other livestock, all animals are rendered insensible to
pain by a single blow or gunshot or an electrical, chemical or other means
that is rapid and effective, before being shackled, hoisted, thrown, cast,
or cut."
Women have the right to know the facts about the medical development of
unborn children and that they have the option to minimize or eliminate the
pain an unborn child would feel during an abortion. An April 15-17 Zogby
Poll found that 77% of the public favor "laws requiring that women who are
20 weeks or more along in their pregnancy be given information about fetal
pain before having an abortion." Only 16% disagreed.
It is time that we opened our eyes to the terrible pain that unborn children
feel every day during abortions performed in our cities and towns. Right
down the street babies are being ripped limb from limb in a way that would
create an outcry if they did it to a cat, dog or pig. Let's stop the denial
and recognize the truth -- abortion is excruciatingly painful to unborn
children. |
