Supreme Court Inaction Does Not Affect NRLC Model Laws Protecting Pain-Capable Unborn Children
Ten states have passed the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act
WASHINGTON — Today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court not to hear an appeal in the case of an Arizona abortion ban does not affect abortion laws passed in ten states that prohibit abortion after 20 weeks fetal age on the basis that these unborn children are capable of feeling pain. The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) model Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act was enacted in Nebraska in 2010. Since then, nine other states have passed the landmark legislation.
"The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, as it was first passed in Nebraska, differs greatly from the Arizona law struck by the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, and today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to let that decision stand has no impact on these laws protecting from abortion unborn children who can feel pain," observed Mary Spaulding Balch, J.D., National Right to Life director of state legislation. "We remain confident that when the U.S. Supreme Court has the opportunity to review the Nebraska-model Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, they will affirm the law as constitutional."