[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 137 (Tuesday, September 22, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S6859]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               PAIN-CAPABLE UNBORN CHILD PROTECTION BILL

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, ask a family to show you the first 
picture of their child these days, and you are likely to get a black-
and-white image with delicate fingers and tiny toes. Maybe it is their 
precious Christine. Maybe it is their little guy Brett. But one thing's 
for sure--that baby is their child.
  Scientific advances like the sonogram are helping pull back the 
curtain on the mystery of life, they are helping foster a new spirit of 
compassionate protection for the most defenseless, and they are 
providing new opportunities to bridge old political divides.
  We in this Chamber are never going to agree completely on the 
abortion question, but we should at least be able to agree that if an 
unborn child has reached the point where he or she can feel pain, that 
child's life deserves protection. Science is telling us that a child 
can reach this stage around 20 weeks--in other words, 5 months. This is 
when unborn children can react--even recoil--to stimuli an adult would 
recognize as painful. This is when doctors even administer fetal 
anesthesia during surgery.
  As the New England Journal of Medicine study recently demonstrated, 
babies delivered at this age can survive outside the womb. So even if 
we differ on the larger abortion issue, can't we at least agree that 
children at this late stage of development deserve our protection? The 
American people seem to think so. Polls show that American women and 
American men oppose abortions after 5 months. The fact is that we are 
now one of just seven nations--among them countries such as North Korea 
and China--that allow elective abortions at such a late stage. Can't we 
do better than this as a country? The Pain-Capable Unborn Child 
Protection Act would allow America to finally join the ranks of the 
most civilized nations on this issue.
  Just this past weekend in Louisville, hundreds of Kentuckians 
gathered to spread a message of dignity and hope. They marched for 
those who may not meet them. They marched for those who may not hear 
them. But I hope Americans across the country, including participants 
in the 37th annual Walk for Life, will be encouraged to know that their 
voices of humanity and of respect are finally being heard again in a 
Senate under new leadership.
  The executive director of Kentucky Right to Life said the issue 
before us is ``critical.'' She said, ``We have worked tirelessly to 
give these defenseless babies some protection.'' Several States have 
already taken action to protect these children. So has the House of 
Representatives. Now it is up to each of us to show where we stand. We 
are seeing how science is changing this debate.
  So what I am asking every colleague is this: Look in your hearts and 
help us stand up for the most innocent life, help us protect that 
beating heart in that sonogram.

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