WASHINGTON, June 27 (UPI) -- New abortion laws in many states strike at the foundation of abortion rules set out by the U.S. Supreme Court during the last 40 years, observers say.
In just over a year, six U.S. states have passed laws prohibiting abortions after the 20th week based on a theory that a fetus is capable of feeling pain at that point in the pregnancy, an assertion disputed by many mainstream medical organizations in the United States and Britain, The New York Times reported Monday.
"The suggestion that a fetus at 20 weeks can feel pain is inconsistent with the biological evidence," said Dr. David A. Grimes, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.
"To suggest that pain can be perceived without a cerebral cortex is also inconsistent with the definition of pain," he said.
Abortion opponents say support for the new laws will figure prominently in the next presidential election.
"The purpose of this type of bill is to focus on the humanity of the unborn child," said Mary Spaulding Balch, director of state legislation for the National Right to Life Committee. "Fetal pain is something that people who are in the middle on the abortion issue can relate to."
This month, Alabama joined Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska in approving a 20-week limit.
The laws are in direct conflict with the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that abortion cannot be banned until the fetus becomes viable, which most medical opinion holds does not occur until the 24th week.
"These 20-week laws are absolutely unconstitutional," Nancy Northrup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, a legal group, said.
"We will file a legal challenge when the circumstances and timing are right."
