Government
Fetal pain bill introduced
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Feb. 14, 2005
Sen. Sam Brownback (R, Kan.) has introduced legislation that would require physicians to notify women seeking abortions 20 weeks after conception that there is growing medical evidence that a fetus can feel severe and extreme pain during an abortion procedure.
That evidence comes from an expert report prepared for the congressional debate over the partial-birth abortion ban. The ban was passed last year but has been stymied by judicial challenges. The Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act also would require physicians to offer the women the option of anesthesia for the fetus during the procedure.
"It is time to look at the unborn child and recognize that it is really a young human who can feel pain and should be treated with care," Brownback said.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005/02/14/gvbf0214.htm.
