On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee has scheduled a vote on the District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. The bill, introduced by Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) is supported by 214 cosponsors. According to National Right to Life, that includes every Republican member of the Judiciary Committee. In the Senate, a companion bill has 30 cosponsors. Similar laws have been passed in seven states based on the National Right to Life model bill.
As I’ve reported recently, in the District of Columbia, abortion is legal for any reason up to the time of birth. According to National Right to Life Legislative Director Douglas Johnson, “[a] vote against this bill amounts to a vote to ratify the current policy in the nation’s capital, which is legal abortion for any read until the moment of birth.” The District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, known as H.R. 2803 in the House and S. 2103 in the Senate, would make abortion illegal in the District of Columbia 20 weeks after fertilization (22 weeks of pregnancy). According to the legislation, by 20 weeks after fertilization, an unborn child can experience great pain. The only exception to the legislation would apply when the mother’s life is endangered.
Human fetus at 20-weeks-old.
A new poll shows that support for the bill is strong nationwide. National Right to Life reports that a new poll conducted by the Polling Company Inc./WomenTrend, shows that by a 58%-27% margin, American adults who are informed of the current policy in the District of Columbia concerning abortion would be most likely to vote for lawmakers who support the District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.
The Polling Company Inc./WomenTrend asked 1,010 adults the following question:
Currently, within the District of Columbia, the nation’s capital, there is no abortion law at all. This means that abortion is legal there, for any reason, right up until the moment of birth. This summer, Congress is considering a bill that would not allow abortion in the District of Columbia after 22 weeks of pregnancy – which means after the beginning of the sixth month of pregnancy – unless the mother’s life is in danger. Would you be more likely or less likely to vote for a Member of Congress who favors this bill? And would you be (ROTATED) more or less likely to vote for a Member of Congress who votes in favor of this bill? (Probed: And would that be MUCH or SOMEWHAT MORE/LESS LIKELY?)
The Polling Company, Inc./WomenTrend found that a margin of more than 2 to 1 favored lawmakers who support the District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. The Polling Company, Inc./WomenTrend asked:
Unless an abortion is necessary to save a mother’s life, do you think abortion should be permitted after the point where substantial medical evidence says that the unborn child can feel pain?
The poll found that by a 3-to-1 margin, adults favored a policy of not permitting abortion anywhere after “substantial medical evidence” is reported that says an “unborn child can feel pain,” unless the life of the mother is threatened.
On the web:
- You can find out more about National Right to Life here.
- NRLC has a section of its website about the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act that you can view here.
- To see The Polling Company, Inc./WomenTrend document with the poll questions and results, go here.
