MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT) -- Mid-State Republican congressional Rep. Marsha Blackburn has introduced a bill that would prohibit most abortions after 20 weeks.
Along with Rep. Trent Franks of Arizona, Blackburn on Tuesday introduced the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. The publication, The Hill, says the very same bill passed the House last year, but the companion measure stalled in the then Democrat controlled Senate.
The Act would prohibit abortions after 20 weeks with exceptions for rape, incest and the mother’s physical health. The bill relies heavily on disputed research that suggests fetuses can feel pain caused by abortion procedures after 20 weeks.
In committee testimony last year, Blackburn asserted that public opinion favors such restrictions.
“Public opinion polls show time and again that the American people support limits on abortion. Sixty percent of Americans say abortion should not be permitted in the second trimester and an overwhelming 80 percent believe it should never happen in the third.”
GOP Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina plans to re-introduce the companion Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act in the now Republican controlled Senate.
Would you like to view the original Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act legislation?