U.S. Bishops’ Pro-Life Chairman Calls Senate Failure to
Pass Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act “Appalling”

January 29, 2018

WASHINGTON— Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Pro-Life Activities called the Senate’s failure to pass the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act “appalling”. The bill proposes to ban abortions starting at 20 weeks after fertilization.

“The U.S. Senate’s failure to adopt the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, prohibiting abortions at 20 weeks post-fertilization, is appalling. Abortions performed in the second half of pregnancy usually involve brutally dismembering a defenseless unborn child, while also posing serious dangers to his or her mother. The Senate’s rejection of this common-sense legislation is radically out of step with most Americans. Opinion polls consistently show that a strong majority of the public opposes late-term abortions—including those who self-identify as ‘pro-choice’. Furthermore, the United States is currently one of only seven countries that allows abortions beyond 20-weeks. The other six are North Korea, China, Vietnam, Singapore, Canada and the Netherlands. The Senate must rethink its extreme stance on late-term abortions. I call upon the public to tell the Senate that this vote is absolutely unacceptable.”

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Keywords:  U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB, Committee on Pro-Life Activities, Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (H.R. 36), U.S. House of Representatives, Congress, abortion, late-term abortion, viability, Roe v. Wade, fetal organ harvesting, civil rights, pro-life, 20-week abortion ban

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