Big news coming out of Nebraska on Tuesday - Republican Gov. Dave Heineman signed a law that bans most abortions that take place 20 weeks (or later) after conception. The clincher? Heineman based this law on the "theory" that a fetus (at that stage in pregnancy) has the capacity to feel pain - thus making this the first law in the nation to restrict abortions on the basis of fetal pain.
It seems that the push behind this law does not have to do with the typical pro-life/pro-choice debate. In fact, this appears to be a direct result of the murder of Dr. George Tiller (a leading late-term abortion provider in Wichita, KS) last year. Dr. LeRoy Carhart (who occasionally worked with Dr. Tiller) has announced that he would carry on his Dr. Tiller's legacy by performing some later-term abortions in his clinic in Bellevue, NE. This infuriated Nebraska's lawmakers as the state could potentially become, what many have dubbed, the next "late-term abortion capital of the Midwest." Thus, the state's nonpartisan legislature passed the new law by an overwhelming vote of 44 to 5.
The law will take effect Oct. 15 and will forbid abortions after 20 weeks gestation. It does grant an exception, but only in cases of medical emergency: the pregnant woman's imminent death or a serious risk of "substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function." Another law Heineman signed Tuesday will require health care providers to screen women seeking abortions for possible physical or mental risks.
It can be presumed that this new law will certainly certain to set off legal and scientific debates due to the idea that it is attacking abortions from a completely different angle... the possibility of fetal pain. The question of fetal pain is a powerful, one, surrounded by unresolved debate amidst researchers as well as advocates on both sides of the abortion debate.
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Very credible peer-reviewed research is showing more than the possibility of fetal pain. It is a reality now–the kowledge can’t be ignored. Of course, as with most new research, acceptance can require re-thinking what is ethically and morally acceptable in whole industries.
I recall that it took the American Medical Association a long time to accept the research findings on painful effects of tobacco.
It appears the European researchers are a little ahead of the American research on fetal pain. The Europeans have developed a new set of fetal pain indicators that are quite compelling. A good collection of research essays can be found in book form: “Neonatal Pain: Suffering, Pain and the Risk of Brain Damage in the Fetus and the Unborn” (Springer, 2008).