The United States is only one in seven countries that allows late-term abortions. However, this trend may soon change.
According to a recent poll, many Americans do not support abortion after 20 weeks when scientific studies have demonstrated that the fetus can feel pain. According to a recent article published on LifeNews.com, Dr. Steven Zielinski first published reports demonstrating this in the 1980s, and testified before Congress that a fetus could feel pain, “at eight-and-a-half weeks and possibly earlier”, and also that an unborn child, “under the right circumstances, is capable of crying.”
In March, Dr. Colleen A. Malloy, a leading neonatologist, speaking to a U.S. Senate committee, said:
The standard of care for NICUs requires attention to and treatment of neonatal pain. There is no reason to believe that a born infant will feel pain any differently than that same infant if he or she were still in utero.
This and similar evidence has been crucial in directing public opinion against late-term abortions, which has resulted in initiatives such as the the Pain Capable Unborn Child Act. This legislation would prohibit abortions after 20 weeks.
The poll demonstrates that 64% of voters support the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. Further, women, minorities, and millennials are supportive of the legislation. 67% of women and 78% of millennials agreed that abortion should be prohibited after 20 weeks, with 70% of African Americans and 57% of Hispanic voters concurring.
