The Inland Northwest’s two U.S. House members both voted today (Tuesday) for a bill that would ban abortions more than 20 weeks after conception.
The bill has been called the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. Its supporters say scientific evidence now shows unborn babies more than 20 weeks old can feel pain.
The bill had been scheduled for a vote in the House two years ago, but was pulled the day before a pro-life march in the nation’s capital after several Republican congresswomen objected to a few of its provisions.
On Tuesday the House approved it. In a statement afterward, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Washington) noted she was co-chair of that march in 2015. She remembers she had committed to the group that walked that day that she would help to get the bill passed someday.
Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho), one of the bill’s co-sponsors, vowed to promote what he calls a “culture of life.” He said the federal government’s most important responsibility to protect human life, including unborn children. And he says it has a moral obligation to minimize pain and suffering. He noted the U-S is one of only seven nations that allow abortions after 20 weeks.