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January 22,
2009 Volume
5, Number 3 | ||
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In This
Issue
E-Mail
cynthia.davis@house.mo.gov Special Committee on Children
and Families
Chair
Chair Special Committee on State
Parks and Waterways Official Homepage for Official Government Homepage for your
Look up Missouri House Bills – View
Entire Text, Summary, and Last Action Look up Consumer Federal
Links Congressman Blaine
Luetkemeyer |
Anesthesia
For Dying Babies Pain is proof we are still alive, but pain relief
is one of the greatest benefits of living in the day of modern
medicine. On Monday, I had a titanium screw inserted into the lower
jawbone of my mouth. Known as a dental implant, the operation
was
painful. All totaled, I have had about 14 hospital
surgeries and countless dental procedures where I was tremendously served
by the gift of anesthesia. I like anesthesia. Anyone who has
had any kind of surgery knows that local or general anesthesia is a
marvelous amenity. Without it, the hospital corridors would be
filled with screams, whiskey and bullets that could no longer be
bitten. Some scientists believe the unborn can feel pain
within eight weeks from conception. Because babies can’t talk, we
don’t know when they feel pain, but reactions observed indicate the unborn
feel pain at 20 weeks. As medical technology increases, we are
learning more about babies every day. When Roe v. Wade was passed in
1973, most women seeking abortions were told their unborn child was
nothing but a blob of tissue. Today we know so much more.
Click here for information on fetal pain: Fetal
Pain My bill, HB46, addresses many
problems related to our current practice, which denies mothers full information
about all of their options. One provision of this bill allows the
mother to be informed that she can have anesthesia administered to her
unborn baby before the abortion. Some people may not want to think
about unborn babies suffering tumultuous pain, but it is a harsh reality
we must face. If a human being is to be torn limb from limb or
burned chemically with a salt water solution, the only compassionate
response is to offer pain relief. Those opposed to this legislation are concerned
that mothers presented with this decision may no longer want to destroy
the baby. When faced with the choice of anesthesia for the baby, it
brings forth the undeniable truth that another human being will
suffer. Even criminals are humanely put to death for their
crimes. A few years ago, I was at the Bonne Terre Prison at midnight
when an execution was delayed. During the delay, the U.S. Supreme
Court considered the constitutional legalities of if the prisoner felt
even brief seconds of pain from the lethal injection. The question
was whether this would be considered cruel and unusual punishment.
As a society, we philosophically support the goal of alleviating pain and
suffering to the greatest extent possible. The purpose of an
abortion has never been to inflict unbearable pain on others.
Even some who are pro-abortion are satisfied with
this law: Not all abortion-rights activists
o In other words, if you claim to be pro-choice, you
should be in favor of allowing women to make their choice based on facts and
complete information, not keeping them in the dark. Many times
people who claim to be “pro-choice” are only pro-choice so long as the
woman makes the choice to get an abortion. To be philosophically
congruent would mean that we support providing the information women need
to make a decision they will feel good about years
later.
Your
thoughts are important to me, so please let me know what you think about
my legislation to offer the option of providing anesthesia to babies being
aborted. You can send me your opinion by clicking here:
Cynthia Davis In the
Media This Week 1. Here is the link to an article on the
salaries of rural deputy sheriffs that appeared in the Suburban Journal. If you want
to read about how a law from last session is impacting 2. Since the inauguration was
this week, you might be interested in reading about the history of
inaugurations and religious activities here: Presidential
Inaugurations A Little
Bit of Humor…
’”I'm O.K. but I
didn't like the four-letter-word the doctor used in
surgery.” “What did he say?”
asked the nurse. “OOPS!”
This Capitol Report is a weekly
newsletter by Representative J If you know of anyone else who
would like to receive my Capitol Report, please send an e-mail to Cynthia.Davis@house.mo.gov with the
person’s name and e-mail address. We’ll add them to the
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