New law to protect preborn from abortive pain

During the Presidential Campaign of 2016, candidate Donald Trump wrote to me and several other national prolife leaders asking us to be part of a “Pro-life Advisory Coalition” that the campaign was forming to assist Mr. Trump and his team to formulate policy priorities for the Pro-life cause.

Fr. Frank Pavone

That coalition now advises the president and his team.

His letter outlines several very specific commitments which represent key priorities for the pro-life movement. He has been following through on every one of them, such as putting a pro-life Justice on the Supreme Court.

Among those commitments was also to sign a piece of legislation that represents the next significant step in ending abortion. It is a measure which has already been enacted in various states and indeed already introduced in Congress. Crafted by our friends at National Right to Life, it is called the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, and it would protect the lives of children in the womb from 20 weeks of development and beyond, because of their ability to feel pain.

A few important points to keep in mind about this legislation:

First, this is a measure that enjoys the support of a majority of Americans and their legislators. According to a January 2017 Marist poll, six in ten Americans support banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. This includes even most people who call themselves “pro-choice!”

Second, the fact that the legislation does not protect every child in the womb does not mean we approve of earlier abortions, and neither does it absolve us of our responsibility to protect those whom our legislators are not willing to protect now. Every abortion is equally wrong and we are committed to protect every child. And when it comes to lateterm abortion, our legislators at the state and federal level are in fact willing to do so now – and so must we be.

Third, educationally, we always proceed from the more obvious to the less obvious. The name of this bill starts with the word “pain,” which everyone understands from experience. The pain of others evokes our compassion, and helps us identify with their humanity. This bill focuses on what abortion does to the unborn baby, and rather than simply regulating or de-funding abortion, it actually protects the babies from it.

The time is now for a measure like this to receive our full, enthusiastic support. As influential members of our local communities, we need to encourage our state and federal lawmakers to pass this particular measure. Remind them that our current abortion policy in America – allowing the killing of children throughout pregnancy — is among the most extreme in the world, and has never had majority support. As influential members of your parishes, urge your priests and lay leaders to educate the congregation about the pain children feel in abortion and the opportunity we have now to protect them.

And if the legislators who represent you embrace a pro-abortion position, challenge them publicly with a simple question: “Do you believe that healthy children carried by healthy mothers should be protected, in the latest stages of pregnancy, from painful dismemberment?” If a public official cannot answer that question with a clear “yes,” he or she does not belong in public office, and we need to say so.

Priests for Life is ready to assist you and your local chapters in pursuing this next crucial step in the protection of the unborn. To keep up on the latest developments and action alerts, and to help us make this a major campaign issue in the 2018 elections, sign up at www. StopAbortionNow.org.

FR. FRANK PAVONE, one of the most prominent prolife leaders in the world, has led the Priests for Life movement and its family of ministries since 1993. See PriestsForLife.org for more information.