"Humane" legislating

On December 6, the House of Representatives voted on the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act, which would have required abortion facilities to inform women considering abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy that the abortion will likely cause her unborn child intense pain.  It would also required abortionists to offer mothers a chance to give their babies anesthesia before the abortion.  It would not have outlawed a single abortion.  It would seem, then, the kind of non-prohibitory, educational, conscience-raising measure that, it is often suggested by pro-lifers on the political left, pro-life people can and should support.

While 210 of 219 Republicans (96 percent) voted for the Act, just 40 of 192 Democrats (21 percent) did likewise.

Daniel Allott notes:

Even worse, of the 6 Democratic congressmen recently recognized by the Humane Society as "The Best of the Best" (meaning they received a perfect voting score and sponsored animal protection legislation), not one voted for the UCPAA. Conversely, four out of the five Republican Representatives at the top of the Humane Society's list also voted for the UCPAA, including the legislation's primary sponsor, New Jersey Representative Chris Smith.

Here's hoping for better things from the next Congress.