Editorial: On Roe vs. Wade’s birthday, an unscientific attempt to limit abortion rights
Publisher’s note: This editorial is from the Jan. 21, 2015, Los Angeles Times.
Today, the 42nd anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Roe vs. Wade, the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on a bill to ban abortions at 20 weeks. The bill is expected to pass the House and may pass the Senate as well, although it is almost certain to be vetoed by President Obama.
But even if it won’t ultimately become law, it is worth pausing for a moment to think about what this bill is about. Under Roe, women have a constitutional right to an abortion up to the point of viability of the fetus outside the womb, which is about 24 weeks.
The bill would flout that, based on the claim that a fetus can feel pain at 20 weeks — an assertion rejected by most medical experts who have studied the issue and who have concluded that all the neurological elements necessary to experience pain are not completely in place and functioning at that point.