FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 3, 2017
Contact: Mallory Quigley, [email protected] 202-223-8073
SBA List Urges Pro-Life Senate to Bring Up the Bill, Force Tough Vote for Vulnerable Pro-Abortion Senators up in 2018
Washington, D.C. – This afternoon the U.S. House of Representatives voted 237 to 189 to pass the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, legislation that would protect unborn children from abortion after five months – more than halfway through pregnancy, a point by which science shows they can feel pain. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) and introduced on the House floor by Rep. Karen Handel (R-GA), with Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) leading floor debate.
The national pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) released the following statement:
“Today’s vote to pass the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act was a win for basic human decency. Thanks to Leader McCarthy and Rep. Trent Franks, we are one crucial step closer to protecting thousands of unborn children nationwide from painful late-term abortions,” said SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “It was also especially fitting that strong pro-life women like Rep. Karen Handel and Rep. Liz Cheney were at the forefront to introduce the bill and lead debate. Polls consistently show that large, diverse majorities of Americans support this legislation – women in higher numbers than men.
“The United States is one of only seven nations in the world that allow children in the womb to be killed for any reason up until the moment of birth, putting us in the company of China and North Korea. Our nation does not belong in that disgraceful club. Momentum has long been building for national legislation to protect babies at five months. Twenty states have passed their own Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Acts.
Now it’s time for the pro-life majority in the Senate to bring up this bill and force vulnerable pro-abortion Senators up in 2018 to either stand with their pro-life constituents and vote for this bill, or stand with the extreme abortion lobby and vote in favor of late-term abortion on-demand. This is not a vote that Senator Claire McCaskill or any Senator running in a state carried by President Trump wants to have.”
The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act has become known as “Micah’s Law” in honor of Micah Pickering, who was born prematurely at twenty weeks (22 weeks gestation) in July 2012. Micah and his mother, Danielle Pickering, were featured in SBA List’s 2016 election ad “Micah.”
Nationwide polling by the polling company, inc./WomanTrend, Quinnipiac, National Journal, Huffington Post, NBC/Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post/ABC News has found that a plurality or majority of Americans support limiting abortion after five months, women in higher numbers than men.
Voter support for the legislation is especially high among millennials (78 percent), African-Americans (70 percent), and Hispanics (57 percent). Several national pollshave found that as many as 51 percent of Democrats support limiting abortion after twenty weeks.
President Donald Trump has made four key commitments to the pro-life movement, including signing the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act into law. The White House has issued a statement of support for the bill.
Susan B. Anthony List and its partner super PAC, Women Speak Out spent more than $18 million in the 2016 election cycle, knocking on more than 1.1 million doors in battleground states to defeat Hillary Clinton and maintain a pro-life Senate. SBA List is dedicated to pursuing policies and electing candidates who will reduce and ultimately end abortion. To that end, the SBA List emphasizes the education, promotion, mobilization, and election of pro-life women. The SBA List is a network of more than 600,000 pro-life Americans nationwide.
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