Utah House Approves Illegal Abortion and Fetal Pain Bills, Now Head to Senate
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
February 3, 2009
Salt Lake City, UT (LifeNews.com) — The Utah state House has approved two pro-life bills that sponsors hope will help further reduce the number of abortions in the state. The measures include one making second-trimester abortions illegal and another to tell women about the pain their unborn child will feel during the abortion.
Rep. Carl Wimmer, a Republican, is behind the fetal pain measure, which require abortion practitioners to tell women about the pain a baby feels. It would also give women considering an abortion a chance to offer the baby anesthesia.
Wimmer hopes the bill will educate women about the humanity of their unborn child and prompt them to choose abortion alternatives.
He says abortion advocates who deny unborn children don’t feel pain during an abortion are resorting to an antiquated view.
"The idea that a fetus at 20 weeks doesn’t feel pain is embarrassing, laughable and absurd," he said, calling it similar to the idea that slaves or newborn children don’t feel pain either.
Lawmakers approved HB 222 on a 56-15 vote and the measure would apply to any abortions done beyond 20 weeks of pregnancy.
The bill does not require women to allow for the anesthesia but gives them 24 hours to reflect on the information given to them about fetal pain.
Meanwhile, the House approved HB 90 on a 56-16 vote and the bill would making doing an illegal abortion a second-degree felony homicide. Legislators rejected an amendment to reduce the penalties.
We’re not arguing abortion, we’re not redefining it," sponsoring Rep. Paul Ray, a Republican, said.
"If someone does an illegal abortion, it’s a felony. If an unborn child is killed by someone punching a woman in the stomach, it is murder. This just brings illegal abortions up to the same standard, no matter in what manner you murder the fetus," he explained, according to the Deseret News.
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