National Abortion Federation Applauds the Defeat of H.R. 6099 the “Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act”

NAF commends the House of Representatives for voting against an ill-advised bill, which would have intruded upon the physician-patient relationship and substituted political agendas for sound science and medicine. H.R. 6099 would have required providers to inform a patient seeking a legal abortion after 20 weeks that there is “substantial evidence” that a fetus may feel pain during an abortion procedure. This would have been accomplished by forcing women to read and sign a statement with inflammatory rhetoric that projected a level of certainty that far exceeded the scientific research. We are grateful that legislators recognized that available science failed to support the conclusions drawn by the legislation and its required statement. Women deserve to make private health care decisions based upon accurate, unbiased medical information, without interference from Congress.