A bill that would ban abortion after 20 weeks passed the Pennsylvania House and is now headed to the Senate. It also would criminalize procedures that cause the deaths of fetuses by removing their body parts. The Pennsylvania Medical Society has written several legislators stating its opposition to the bill, and an association representing gynecologists and obstetricians has expressed misgivings. As soon as Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on a Texas law that requires that abortion doctors have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and that would shutter all but nine clinics in that state.
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“As legislators, we should get back to business in passing a budget”. Virtually every person in this room has had to make a major medical decision for themselves or for a loved one. “Each of you, imagine having to stand at this podium and implore this room to allow you to make a personal medical decision for yourself or for a loved one”.
The dilation-and-extraction procedure, which the bill’s supporters termed “dismemberment abortion”, amount to “ripping a baby from its mother’s womb, limb by limb”, said Republican Rep.
Brian Sims gave an impassioned speech this week on the state House floor, opposing legislation that would ban abortions after 20 weeks unless deemed absolutely necessary, the Friendly Atheist reports.
In Pennsylvania, 1,550 unborn babies were aborted in 2014 using the brutal D&E dismemberment abortion method, according to state statistics.
“Most countries are civilized enough to realize pre-born babies should not be torn apart”, stated Michael Ciccocioppo, executive director of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, the Pennsylvania affiliate of National Right to Life.
But its prospects are unclear in the Senate and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s support isn’t guaranteed.
State Rep. Jamie Santora, R-163, of Upper Darby retracted co-sponsorship of the bill, but did vote for it.
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Just a handful of states – Kansas, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Mississippi, and Alabama – have passed laws targeting the procedure that anti-abortion lawmakers describe as “dismemberment abortion”.
