The Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act Needs Your Help

Congress has at Least One More Chance to Do Something Great

A friend of mine in Washington has alerted me to an important bill about to be debated by the lame duck congress: The Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act. Once the Democrats take control in the new session, pro-life legislation will have little or no chance to get out of committee. As of January, advocates for the powerless children in the womb will be forced to play a defensive game against an onslaught of legislation seeking to protect so called “rights” to kill human beings in the first and last years of their lives. But right now this Congress has a chance to redeem itself by doing something right. The Congress needs to pass the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act ASAP, and we need to encourage them to do it.

My friend Alexandra wrote:

"Be an Advocate for the Unborn

Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) recently introduced legislation which would put people on notice that the unborn are worthy of legal protection. Scientists now know that unborn babies 20 weeks or older can feel pain. As it currently stands, the law permits second and third trimester abortions without any pain-reducing drugs for the child. Smith’s bill, the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act (H.R. 6099), would require an abortion provider who knowingly performs an abortion on an unborn child of 20 weeks or more to provide the mother with information about her baby’s age and sensitivity to pain. She will be given a brochure informing her of the option to have an anesthetic administered directly to her unborn child prior to the procedure.

By the 20th week, unborn babies have the physical structures necessary to experience pain. Studies have shown that they react to painful stimuli by withdrawing or grimacing, just as you and I would. For this reason, anesthesia is routinely administered to unborn children of 20 weeks or more who undergo prenatal surgery.

A few months ago, congressional offices were flooded with letters and phone calls in support of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, which banned the inhumane transport of horses to be slaughtered for human consumption. Because of the overwhelming response from constituents, the Horse Slaughter Prevention Act passed the House by an overwhelming margin.

Ordinary people who took a moment to write an e-mail or make a phone call made all the difference.

The House of Representatives is expected to hear debate on the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act next Tuesday or Wednesday. It is doubtful that the new Congress will take up this legislation after it convenes in January. NOW is the time to call or e-mail your Representative and urge him or her to SUPPORT H.R. 6099.

Please, do not let the last weeks of this Congress pass without speaking up on behalf of the unborn babies among us who are subject to forms of torture and dismemberment that would be criminal if committed on animals.

Unborn children need your voice. Please call or e-mail your Representative TODAY! Then ask your friends and family across the nation to do the same.

To find your Representative, go to http://www.house.gov/writerep/. You can contact your representative via e-mail through his or her website or by phone. Letters will not arrive in time for the debate. To read the text of the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act, go to http://www.thomas.loc.gov/ and search for bill number H.R. 6099.
If you have any questions regarding this legislation or other bills to protect unborn children, please feel free to contact me at bearhour@gmail.com.

Alexandra Berauer”

Please e-mail your representatives. Turn on the heat to get something good done while there is some daylight left to work in. Politely and lovingly demand the passage of the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act, H. R. 6099.