Bill Summary

The Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act would impose a new requirement on those who perform abortions on unborn children at 20 weeks gestation or later. The bill requires abortion providers inform the women seeking an abortion of medical evidence that the unborn child feels pain. This information would be provided in two forms: through a verbal statement given by the abortion provider, and by supplying the woman with a brochure developed by the Department of Health and Human Services. This bill would ensure that the woman, if she chooses to continue with the abortion procedure, would have the option of choosing anesthesia for the child, to ease the child's pain.

The Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act contains a number of Congressional findings regarding the scientific evidence that unborn children experience pain during abortions at 20 weeks. Some evidence suggests that unborn children feel pain even earlier. The findings also cite a number of existing federal laws that seek to diminish the suffering of animals, such as restrictions on how livestock are slaughtered and restrictions on the use of animals in medical research. Our country has greater protections for animals than for our own innocent unborn children! Much like the public debate surrounding the Partial Birth Abortion Ban and Unborn Victims of Violence Act, this measure draws attention to the gruesome violence inflicted on the unborn.

An April 15-17, 2004, Zogby poll found 77% of Americans favored laws requiring that women who are 20 weeks or more along in their pregnancies be given information about fetal pain before having an abortion.

Bill Status

Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) introduced the bill in the Senate in January 2007. Representatice Chris Smith (R-NJ) introduced the bill in the House and it was referred to Committee in August 2007.

Bill History

The Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act was developed from the ban on partial birth abortion when evidence was introduced that the unborn child experiences significant pain during the abortion procedure. Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) first introduced the legislation in May of 2004 (S. 2466/H.R. 4420), but the bill did not reach the President's desk. Both legislators reintroduced the legislation in the 109th Congress. In December 2006, H.R. 6099 passed the House by an overwhelming vote of 250-162, but it fell short of the procedural 2/3 majority vote required at the time.