Romney reintroduces bill banning abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy – KJZZ

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV)

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) and other Republican lawmakers are re-introducing a bill to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Called the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, the legislation would criminalize abortions performed after 20 weeks, "the point at which scientific evidence suggests an unborn child is able to feel pain," according to Romney.

According to CDC data, the legislation would apply to the 1.3% of abortions performed in the United States after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Health care workers, not pregnant women, would face criminal penalties for performing abortions after 20 weeks if the bill were to become law, with the penalty including up to five years in prison.

The legislation does make exceptions in cases of rape, incest, or to protect the life of the mother.

The Pain-Capable Abortion Act has been introduced previously in 2015, when it passed the House but failed in the Senate, Vox reports. It was also on the table again in 2018, when it failed.

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Reports of the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act exist as far back as 2015.

Whether or not an unborn child can feel pain at any point in the gestational process remains scientifically unproven, according to multiple scientific publications.

Evidence regarding the capacity for fetal pain is limited but indicates that fetal perception of pain is unlikely before the third trimester," beginning at 27 to 28 weeks after conception according to a 2005 synthesis of available scientific evidence published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

As recently as 2012, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists re-assessed available research and came to the same conclusion.

The Planned Parenthood Association of Utah issued the following statement to 2News regarding Romney and other legislators' re-introduction of the bill:

Health care decisions should be made by patients and their trusted health care provider, not by politicians in the Senate. These bills are designed by politicians to spread misinformation, distort the truth, shame pregnant people and doctors, and ultimately, ban abortion. The American people overwhelmingly support abortion access, and they want a U.S. Senate that works to expand health care, not take it away."

The legislation, led by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-UT) is also cosponsored by Sens. John Barrasso (R-WY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Roy Blunt (R-MO), John Boozman (R-AR), Mike Braun (R-IN), John Cornyn (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Steve Daines (R-MT), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Josh Hawley (R-MO), John Hoeven (R-ND), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), James Inhofe (R-OK), Ron Johnson (R-WI), John Kennedy (R-LA), James Lankford (R-OK), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Rand Paul (R-KY), Rob Portman (R-OH), James Risch (R-ID), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Rick Scott (R-FL), Tim Scott (R-SC), Richard Shelby (R-AL), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), John Thune (R-SD), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Pat Toomey (R-PA), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and Todd Young (R-IN).

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Romney reintroduces bill banning abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy - KJZZ