[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15406]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         PROTECTING THE UNBORN

  (Mr. ABRAHAM asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer my support to the 
Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.
  This legislation is crucial toward protecting the most vulnerable 
among us: the unborn.
  As a doctor, it is my job to stay current with the latest medical 
research, and I have done so in my job in Congress, too.
  The research overwhelmingly shows that children 20 weeks or less are 
capable of showing pain. This is brought forth by the fact that when an 
in-utero procedure is done, both the mother and the unborn child are 
given anesthesia. Not to do so allows that child to recoil in pain and 
show a stress response in the uterus.
  I have heard, personally, as a physician, heartbeats in babies as 
early as 6 weeks of age in utero.
  So this legislation is critical, it is needed, it is past due, and I 
urge my colleagues to support this.

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