Salt Lake City, Utah, Mar 30, 2016 / 02:02 am
A new Utah law requiring anesthesia for unborn babies during late-term abortions shows the contradiction between society's view of life and legal abortion, a leading pro-life doctor has said.
"If we as a society say it is okay to put to death the unborn, especially abortions that are done on fetuses that could survive outside the womb, then I think anesthesia is merciful," Dr. Donna Harrison, executive director of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, told CNA March 29.
Legislation based on the concept of fetal pain helps people recognize "that this baby is a human being, a human being that can feel pain just like the rest of us," said Harrison, who is an obstetrician-gynecologist.
At the same time, she saw a "schizophrenic" approach to fetal pain legislation, especially given that babies can survive outside the womb at 22 weeks into pregnancy.