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In “making America as bad as ever” news, the GOP has introduced the deplorable H.R. 490: Heartbeat Protection Act of 2017, a bill prohibiting abortion “in cases where a fetal heartbeat is detectable.” On November 1st, they will deliberate over the proposed legislation that would ban abortions at the six-week mark.
Not only does H.R. 490 enforce a tenuous window of time for people to make a decision regarding their pregnancy (most folks don’t realize they’re pregnant before the six week mark), but it also incriminates physicians who perform abortions without determining “whether the fetus has a detectable heartbeat,” “without informing the mother of the results,” and “after determining that a fetus has a detectable heartbeat.” Any physician found to be incompliant faces a fine and/or up to five years behind bars.
“Since Roe v. Wade was unconstitutionally decided in 1973, nearly 60 million innocent babies’ lives have been ended by the abortion industry, all with a rubber stamp by the federal government,” Representative Steve King of Iowa, sponsor of the bill, said in January. “If a heartbeat is detected, the baby is protected.”
If this bill passes, exceptions will be made in emergencies—i.e. in the case of physical illness—but pregnant person dealing with emotional or psychological issues are unacknowledged. As CASSIUS previously reported regarding Arkansas’ H.B. 1566, this legislation raises grave concerns for pregnancies conceived during rape and/or abusive relationships, which can cause or exacerbate already existing emotional and psychological conditions.
Earlier this month, the House of Representatives passed the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which makes abortion illegal after 20 weeks in every state.
