A bill that would outlaw abortions after 20-weeks into pregnancy has been approved by the Missouri House of Representatives.
The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, also known as H.B. 1266, was passed by a vote of 117-31. The bill is based on claims that the unborn baby can feel pain by 20 weeks gestation.
Under the legislation, abortions will only be allowed in cases when a woman's life is in danger or at "serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function, not including psychological or emotional conditions," according to the Associated Press (AP).
Critics have argued that abortion would be the more humane option in the event that there's an issue with the development of the fetus. Democratic lawmakers further contended that women should be allowed to choose whether or not to terminate their pregnancies, especially when the unborn baby develops abnormalities.
Democratic Rep. Barbara Washington recalled the time when her sister was pregnant and was expecting a healthy baby. However she gave birth earlier than expected and doctors said that the infant would never be able to hear, talk or see.
Washington noted that Medicaid health care was withheld from her sister and that the baby passed away at 19 months old. She called on other lawmakers to vote against the bill, arguing that more money should be spent on children in need after birth.
"No one's saying that they have to have an abortion. We're saying that a woman has the statutory, Supreme Court right to choose," she said.
The bill's sponsor, Rep. Donna Lichtenegger, has previously stated that unborn babies who are nearly formed and can already feel pain must be protected by the state.
"If a nervous system is fully functional, it feels pain, so that's why we are wanting to not have an abortion after 20 weeks," she said at the committee hearing in January, as reported by Life News.
Republican Rep. Chrissy Sommer said a doctor had told her when she was pregnant that her unborn child was not developing properly. The doctor reportedly suggested that she could opt for an abortion, but she chose to go ahead with the pregnancy. She later found out that the physician had mistakenly given her the results of another woman's medical tests.
"I could have literally terminated my son, who is now 20 and beautiful," she said, according to AP.
A total of 18 states have enacted a ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy as of the end of 2017, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
Earlier this year, a federal 20-week abortion ban was approved by the U.S. House but failed in the Senate.
