LIFE DIGEST: Oklahoma 3rd state to enact pain-capable ban
- Apr 26, 2011 -
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin signed into law April 20 a ban on abortions of unborn babies who ostensibly are able to feel pain, making the state the third this year to enact such a prohibition.
Fallin, a Republican, also signed legislation that prohibits health insurance policies in the state from covering elective abortions.
Also in this edition: Tennessee Senate OKs abortion restriction amendment, Total of babies saved in 40 Days for Life reaches 677, and Woman charged with murder of unborn child after suicide attempt.
The Pain-capable Unborn Child Protection Act prohibits abortions after 20 weeks of gestation based on scientific evidence a baby in the womb experiences pain by that point. Oklahoma joined Idaho and Kansas in adopting pain-capable abortion bans this year. Nebraska became the first state to enact such a law when it approved a ban in 2010.
The pain-capable approach tightens the restriction on late-term abortions. The model legislation, which was drafted by the National Right to Life Committee, sets the benchmark earlier than one based on fetal viability, which can be 22 to 24 weeks.
Tony Lauinger, chairman of Oklahomans for Life, expressed gratitude to Fallin and pro-life leaders in the state legislature for “their principled and selfless defense of the youngest members of our human family, the helpless, voiceless unborn child – who will never vote for them, never be able to thank them, but whose very lives depend on the courage, perseverance, and dedication of these public servants who stand in defense of innocent human life.”
Tennessee Senate OKs abortion restriction amendment
The Tennessee Senate voted 24-8 April 18 for a constitutional amendment to allow legislators in the future to pass abortion restrictions in the state.
The amendment is a response to the Tennessee Supreme Court’s 2000 decision that the state constitution offers stronger protection for abortion rights than does the federal constitution, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel.
With its vote, the Senate achieved the two-thirds majority required of both houses for the amendment to go to the state’s voters in 2014. The House of Representatives has yet to vote on the proposal.
The amendment reads, according to the News Sentinel: “Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of an abortion. The people retain the right through their elected state representatives and state senators to enact, amend, or repeal statutes regarding abortion, including, but not limited to, circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest or when necessary to save the life of the mother.”
Total of babies saved in 40 Days for Life reaches 677
The total of unborn babies saved from abortion in this spring’s 40 Days for Life campaign has reached 677, the organization’s website reported April 26.
The pro-life effort, which closed April 17, has recorded nearly 4,300 children saved since 40 Days for Life went national in 2007. This spring’s effort was the largest of 40 Days for Life’s eight campaigns, with participants in 247 cities in the United States and 10 other countries.
The biannual campaign consists of 40 days of prayer and fasting to end abortion, as well as community outreach and peaceful prayer vigils outside abortion clinics.
The next 40 Days campaign will be Sept. 28 to Nov. 6.
Woman charged with murder of unborn child after suicide attempt
An Indianapolis, Ind., woman has been charged with the murder of her unborn child after she swallowed rat poison in an attempt to kill herself.
Bei Bei Shuai, 34, who moved from China to the United States 10 years ago, attempted suicide in late December, when she was 33 weeks pregnant, after her boyfriend abandoned her, according to Reuters News Service. He was the father of her child.
Friends took her to a hospital, where she was treated and gave birth to Angel, who died four days later. Police said the cause of death was the poison ingested by Shuai, Reuters reported.
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