Latest of Late-Term Abortions in the District of Columbia

You may wonder why Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) backed by the National Right to Life Committee and Wisconsin Right to Life is introducing H.R. 3803, the District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. Why this bill and why in the District of Columbia?

First, Article I of the Constitution established the District as the national seat of government and states that Congress would “exercise exclusive legislation in all cases, whatsoever, over such District.”

Second, several abortion clinics in the District perform the latest of late-term abortions. One clinic located not far from the Capitol Mall and the White House advertises abortions for any reason up to the beginning of the seventh month of pregnancy. You can obtain one by paying with a credit card — sorry, no checks or money orders accepted. The method of abortion advertised is D&E, a procedure in which the abortionist grabs the living baby’s arms and legs and twists them off, essentially dismembering the baby.

Another DC abortionist advertises abortion even in the seventh and eighth months of pregnancy. The method of death uses ultrasound while a needle is thrust into the heart of the baby and a lethal substance is injected into the heart. “This service” is “not inexpensive,” the abortionist says, and “payment can only be made by a bank electronic transfer.” Show me the money.

Third, and most importantly, there is ample scientific evidence indicating that the baby experiences pain. Certainly the pain of dismemberment, but also the pain of a needle in the heart, and injection, which results in the baby’s cardiac arrest.

Within H.R. 3803, Congress would declare that at least by 20 weeks after fertilization, an unborn child has the capacity to experience pain. The bill would prohibit abortions within the District of Columbia after that time. National Right to Life President Carol Tobias reports that “the bill is coming under fierce attack from pro-abortion forces and in the liberal news media. Congressman Franks is also being made the target of harsh personal attacks.”

This bill presents a strong opportunity to shut down late-term abortion in yet another part of the country where the District of Columbia would join Nebraska, Kansas, Idaho, Alabama and Oklahoma, states which have already passed similar laws. It is also an excellent opportunity to educate the public on the humanity of the unborn child and her ability to experience the pain of abortion.

Barbara Lyons