Does it make it more humane to make babies not feel the pain of death when they are murdered through abortion?
Voting 19-5, senators from the state of Utah approved a bill that would require abortionists to administer anaesthesia to unborn babies so they cannot feel pain while they are being killed.
The proposed law is applicable for unborn children who have been at least 20 weeks inside their mothers' wombs.
"A physician who performs an abortion of an unborn child who is at least 20 weeks gestational age shall administer an anaesthetic or analgesic to eliminate or alleviate organic pain to the unborn child caused by the particular method of abortion to be employed," the measure reads.
Republican Senator Curt Bramble, who authored the bill, said his proposal will give the babies to undergo abortion some "humanity" before they are ultimate murdered.
"Let's call it what it is: It is killing babies, and if we're going to kill that baby, we ought to have the humanity to protect them from pain," Bramble said, as quoted by Christian News.
The senator based his bill on studies that suggest how babies can already feel pain at 20 weeks gestation, although some studies indicate that unborn children already have a sense of pain even earlier.
Bramble said if he had his way, he would like to completely outlaw abortion, which he called "barbaric," "horrendous" and a "death sentence." He nevertheless acknowledged that this decision rests on the Supreme Court.
"If we could prohibit all abortions except in the rarest of circumstances, if we could overturn Roe V. Wade, I would be a proud sponsor of that bill," the Republican lawmaker said.
The bill exempts mothers who may experience bad health effects if their babies are administered anaesthesia. Another exempted case is when "the abortion is performed because the foetus has a defect that is uniformly diagnosable and uniformly lethal."
Before the measure was debated upon, members of Planned Parenthood of Utah protested at the Senate, bearing signages which stated "Keep Politics Out of the Exam Room" and "Senator Bramble Is NOT My Doctor."
