UPDATE!! Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act Passes US House by a vote of 242-184!
House to vote on Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act with new provisions to ensure as many babies survive as possible.
image
By Cheryl Sullenger
Washington, DC – Two years ago today, a jury walked into a Philadelphia courtroom and convicted abortionist Kermit Gosnell on three counts of murder. But this was anything but a routine murder case.
The victims were tiny babies in the late stages of pregnancy who were born alive during shoddy abortions at Gosnell’s ‘House of Horrors’ abortion mill, then intentionally murdered by snipping their spinal cords through the backs of their necks while the infants struggled for life. The murder trial was extensively covered by Operation Rescue, which was in the courtroom for most of the trial.
Evidence presented during that case horrified many who heard of it, including Representative Trent Franks (R-AZ). Franks made it his business to seek protections for babies like those murdered by Gosnell.
Today, two years later, a vote is scheduled on the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act introduced by Franks earlier this year, which will halt nearly all abortions after 20 weeks gestation, when babies are known to feel pain.
After the delay of a promised vote in January, new language has been added to ensure that as many babies as possible are given a chance at life.
A controversial rape exception has been modified to provide counseling for rape victims at least 48 hours in advance. If an abortion is done under the rape exception, the abortion may only be done in the manner in which “provides the best opportunity for the unborn child to survive.”
“This would mean there will be no more Gosnells in America. It could also mean no more fatal digoxin injections into the hearts of babies 20 weeks and older, no more dismemberment of these children, and no more babies being born into toilets, which we find all barbaric methods of killing pre-born children that are currently going on today,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman, who was arrested on March 25 with other pro-life leaders outside Speaker John Boehner’s office while protesting the delay in a vote on the late-term abortion ban. “In essence, all babies that reach 20 weeks gestation would either be completely protected, or in very rare cases, would be afforded at least a chance at life.”
The new language provides that in the extremely rare event that an abortion at 20 weeks or later is done under a narrow rape exception, a physician trained in neo-natal resuscitation must be present during the abortion and provide the child with medical care to give the child the best opportunity at survival.
“While this may not be a perfect scenario, this legislation will save thousands of lives a year. Banning late-term abortions is something Operation Rescue has directly worked to accomplish for the past 13 years beginning with our work in Wichita, Kansas, where we relocated our office in 2002. This bill means a lot to us, but it means even more to the babies it will protect from a brutal, inhumane death,” said Newman.
The Center for Disease Control reports that there were 7,325 abortions in the U.S. in 2011 that were done on babies over 22 weeks gestation and older. This number is considered low because of several states that do not report abortion numbers.
“We estimate that approximately 10,000 babies will be spared yearly due to this legislation,” said Newman. “Any time one can save that many lives – or even one life — it would be immoral not to do it.”
A vote in the House is expected today and should soon be followed by a vote in the Senate. President Barack Obama, a radical supporter of unfettered abortion, has voted to veto the bill.
“We are praying for a miracle override or maybe even a change of heart that will make this bill become law as soon as possible,” said Newman. “A few years ago, no one would have thought this kind of legislation could ever be introduced. Nothing is impossible.”

Read about March 25 protest that resulted in Newman’s arrest.
Read about May 7 protest.
Read the full text of HR 36, Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act
Learn about late-term abortion methods currently employed in the U.S.