4/20: ‘Fetal pain’ bill debate continues
Moderated by Tom Sabulis
The “fetal pain bill” passed by the General Assembly awaits Gov. Nathan Deal’s signature. But that hasn’t stopped the debate over the proposed law, which would restrict abortion after 20 weeks.
A local doctor suggests the law may in effect make abortions safer for women and cites data to back it up.
On the other side, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood in Atlanta writes that the law is just the next step in Georgia’s march to further restrict women’s rights when it comes to abortion.
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20 comments Add your comment
Betty Bloop
April 20th, 2012
1:44 pm
Charles: it is about LATE TERM abortion, which the United States Supreme Court itself has recognized as a grisly, barbaric, and inhumane procedure
Though the procedure has had a low rate of use, representing 0.17% (2,232 of 1,313,000) of all abortions in the United States in the year 2000, according to voluntary responses to an Alan Guttmacher Institute survey,[2] it has developed into a focal point of the abortion debate
This discussion is not about women’s bodies, it’s about men’s babies. Georgia currently ranks second in the nation in number of late term abortions committed – we are a destination location for people seeking a late term abortion
Please cite where you go this statistic please.
the Court quoted a witness: ““The baby’s little fingers were clasping and unclasping, and his little feet were kicking. Then the doctor stuck the scissors in the back of his head, and the baby’s arms jerked out, like a startle reaction, like a flinch
A journalist observed three IDX and two D&E procedures involving fetuses ranging from 19 to 23 weeks. She “watched for any signs of fetal distress, but … [she] could see no response, no reflexive spasm, nothing. Whether this was a result of the anesthesia or an undeveloped fetal system for pain sensitivity, one thing was clear: There was no discernible response by the fetus.
Gonzales v. Carhart – This bill, HB 954, is not just about abortion, it is about LATE TERM abortion, which the United States Supreme Court itself has recognized as a grisly, barbaric, and inhumane procedure
Professor and academic Geoffrey R. Stone has argued that the religion of Supreme Court judges played an important role in the decision, given that the five judges in the majority were Catholic.
Brian Feldman
April 20th, 2012
12:40 pm
Why legislators think they know more than doctors and patients in this very difficult situation is beyond me.
Bob Loblaw
April 20th, 2012
9:26 am
What does a Hematologist know about Obstetrics? Really, AJC? Could you not find an OB to talk about fetal development? Why don’t we hire a divorce lawyer to talk about the Death Penalty next time you write about it?
williebkind
April 20th, 2012
8:36 am
Julia
April 20th, 2012
8:29 am
” the day you have a womb is the day it is any business of yours. Until that day comes, it is my womb, my choice”
Not in a civilized society!
williebkind
April 20th, 2012
8:34 am
What a great comparison! The progressives do have more concern over animal rights than a babies rights. That is seen everyday in every newspaper. I hope the Governor signs too! The idea this is about womens reproductive rights is just a lie. They should be more concerned with contraceptives than high cost medical procedures.
Julia
April 20th, 2012
8:29 am
Charles A Jones, Jr, the day you have a womb is the day it is any business of yours. Until that day comes, it is my womb, my choice.
“This discussion is not about women’s bodies, it’s about men’s babies.” indeed. my body, my choice. I’ve often wondered just how many men spouting ideas like yours are in fact dead beat dads.
TrishaDishaWarEagle
April 19th, 2012
9:03 pm
I used to be pro life then I decided most people are not worth bothering to care about, and am not rabidly pro choice.
Everyone applying for public assistance is sterilized, any ongoing pregnancy aborted, and a ticking time bomb implanted that would explode inside them in 6 months if they had not gotten off the public dole
carlosgvv
April 19th, 2012
8:40 pm
Charles A Jones, Jr.
Because you show such a concern for the unborn, I just know you’ll go to an abortion clinic, persuade a poor woman to have her baby, and they volunteer to financially help this baby for the first 18 years of his/her life. You will gladly give generous financial assistance for food, clothing, shelter, medical and dental expenses, etc. You will do this, wont you? Won’t you?
carlosgvv
April 19th, 2012
8:36 pm
Where do board certified medical doctors stand on this?
Charles A Jones Jr. (Athens)
April 19th, 2012
6:38 pm
I urge His Excellency the Governor to sign this important human rights bill without delay. I am tremendously proud of my representative, The Honourable Doug McKillip, for championing the rights of the unborn, and their mothers and fathers, against the multi million dollar abortion industry.
Regardless of one’s ultimate position about whether abortion is “choice” or whether it is murder, I think most of us can agree that five months, two-thirds of the way into the second trimester, is enough time to have made a “choice.” This bill, HB 954, is not just about abortion, it is about LATE TERM abortion, which the United States Supreme Court itself has recognized as a grisly, barbaric, and inhumane procedure.
In Gonzales v. Carhart, the Court quoted a witness: ““The baby’s little fingers were clasping and unclasping, and his little feet were kicking. Then the doctor stuck the scissors in the back of his head, and the baby’s arms jerked out, like a startle reaction, like a flinch, like a baby does when he thinks he is going to fall. The doctor opened up the scissors, stuck a high-powered suction tube into the opening, and sucked the baby’s brains out. Now the baby went completely limp. …”
In a civilized society, we would not allow a dog to be put to death in such a manner. So for all the overblown rhetoric about livestock, we need to understand that in a late term abortion, the unborn baby is treated WORSE than we would treat an animal.
This discussion is not about women’s bodies, it’s about men’s babies. Georgia currently ranks second in the nation in number of late term abortions committed – we are a destination location for people seeking a late term abortion. I plead with His Excellency to sign this bill into law this day, and to put an end to late term abortions of our babies in this State.