During his State of the Union address tonight, President Donald Trump called on Congress to pass the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.
“There could be no greater contrast to the beautiful image of a mother holding her infant child than the chilling displays our nation saw in recent days,” Trump said. “Lawmakers in New York cheered with delight upon the passage of legislation that would allow a baby to be ripped from the mother’s womb moments before birth. These are living, feeling, beautiful babies who will never get the chance to share their love and dreams with the world. And then, we had the case of the governor of Virginia where he basically stated he would execute a baby after birth.”
“To defend the dignity of every person, I am asking the Congress to pass legislation to prohibit the late-term abortion of children who can feel pain in the mother’s womb,” the president said.
The bill would ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy based on scientific research showing that unborn children can begin to feel pain at that stage of development. Twenty states currently have 20-week abortion bans in place. The United States is one of just seven nations — along with North Korea, China, and Vietnam — to allow abortion after 20 weeks.
The Senate voted on the legislation last January and it failed to reach cloture on a 51–46 vote. According to recent polling from Marist, nearly two-thirds of Americans support limiting abortion to the first 20 weeks of pregnancy, a statistic that includes majorities of Democrats and of those who identified as pro-choice.