House Rejects Fetal Pain Bill

The House on Wednesday voted 250-162 in favor of a bill (HR 6099) that would have required women seeking abortions to be offered an anesthetic for the fetus and told there is evidence the procedure can cause fetal pain, but the measure fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass, the New York Times reports (Hulse, New York Times, 12/7). The legislation -- sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) -- would have required HHS to create a brochure stating "that there is substantial evidence that the process of being killed in an abortion will cause the unborn child pain." According to the measure, abortion providers would be required to give the brochure and offer anesthesia to all women seeking abortions of a "pain-capable unborn child" -- defined in the legislation as fetuses of at least 20 weeks gestation. The woman could accept or reject the anesthesia by signing a form. According to Douglas Johnson, legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee, the group wanted a House vote to measure the amount of support for the bill. The Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the National Abortion Federation oppose the legislation, but NARAL Pro-Choice America took a neutral stance on the measure (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 12/5). A two-thirds majority was required to pass the measure under rules used to bring up the bill for consideration (New York Times, 12/7). Forty Democrats and 210 Republicans voted for the legislation, while 152 Democrats, nine Republicans and one independent voted against it (Fagan, Washington Times, 12/7).

House Comments, Hearing Planned
Some abortion rights supporters said they were pleased the bill failed to pass, the Los Angeles Times reports. "This sham bill is yet another partisan political ploy that misguidedly attempts to insert the government into private medical conversations between women and their doctors," Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.), who helped lead the opposition to the measure, said (Levey, Los Angeles Times, 12/7). She added, "We are wasting time today on a bill that is laden with rhetoric but very little science." Some Republicans said the bill was intended to allow women to make informed choices when considering an abortion. "This legislation is very, very badly needed," Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) said (New York Times, 12/7). "It's about time that women were told the truth about abortion," Smith said (Los Angeles Times, 12/7). According to CQ Today, some House Republicans "are not ready to give up on abortion legislation." The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution has scheduled a Dec. 12 hearing on a bill (HR 522) -- sponsored by Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) -- that would extend the 14th Amendment's "equal protection" guarantee to include a "right to life" for "each born and preborn human person" (Perine, CQ Today, 12/6).

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