More and more states considering ‘fetal pain’ bills

A new front in the debate over abortion is emerging in statehouses across the nation. Abortion foes are gaining ground with bills to force doctors to tell women seeking abortions that fetuses could feel pain during the procedure.

State “fetal pain” bills began popping up last year in the wake of other statutes that drew attention to the interests of fetuses, namely bans on a procedure that its critics call “partial birth” abortion. Fetal pain bills were introduced in 19 states in 2005, and were passed in Arkansas, Georgia, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin bill was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, who said it failed “to reflect a consensus of medical opinion” and “intrudes on the doctor-patient relationship.” He cited a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association that said there is no conclusive evidence of when a fetus first feels pain.

Despite such questions, more fetal pain bills are advancing this year. Such bills have been passed by House members in Utah and Indiana and are headed to their Senates.

Fetal pain bills also have been introduced in Arizona, Iowa, Missouri and Oklahoma. Most would require doctors to tell a woman whose fetus is at 20 weeks or more gestational age that her fetus could feel pain during an abortion.

The bills are the latest attempt by abortion foes to put more restrictions on the procedure and potentially pave the way for the Supreme Court to reverse Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that made abortion legal nationwide.

Tony Lauinger of Oklahomans for Life, who oppose abortion, says the future seems bright for his side. For now, his group is pushing “legislation within the framework of Roe v. Wade … to help the public more fully appreciate the humanity of the unborn.”

Karrie Galloway of Planned Parenthood of Utah counters that fetal pain bills are merely a provocative way to discourage abortion. “There is no medical or scientific consensus,” she said, that fetuses feel pain at 20 weeks.