House Passes 20 Week Abortion Ban

05.13.2015 | Surge Wire |

The House passed a 20 week abortion ban Wednesday, months after an earlier attempt failed because of Republican concerns about language in the initial bill regarding rape and incest.

The bill bans abortions after five months, when the unborn babies are capable of feeling pain, except in cases of rape, incest or life of the mother. A rule requiring rape victims seeking a late term abortion to report the crime was replaced with a mandatory 48 hour waiting period.

It’s now up to the doctor to ensure the woman accessed medical help or counseling 48 hours before the abortion, which sufficiently allayed concerns the former provision was inconsiderate and harsh. (RELATED: House Abandons Abortion, Border Security Bills)

The first vote was supposed to coincide with the anniversary of Roe v. Wade and annual March for Life, but was pulled suddenly because of the rape reporting provision. However, Wednesday’s successful vote does coincide with the two-year anniversary of the conviction of abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell.

“There is strong medical evidence that unborn children can feel pain at 20 weeks or earlier,” Republican Rep. Raul Labrador said in a statement following the vote. “This bill protects these children by restricting the horrific practice of ending their lives before they can draw their first breath.”

The measure passed the House by vote of 242 to 184.

Follow Rachel on Twitter

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.