Emilio Jepsen

20 weeks is the point in which expectant parents discover whether or not their child is compatible with life. The 20 week anatomy scan is the scan that reveals fatal fetal anomalies such as Anencephaly (missing portions of the brain), Thanatophoric Dysplasia (deformed chest cavity that makes it impossible to breathe), Multicystic Dysplastic Kidney (cysts where kidneys should be), and other heartbreaking conditions that will lead to the death of the fetus either in utero or shortly after birth. If this ban goes into effect, couples who receive this horrific news will have to fight legislature to terminate the pregnancy. They may be forced to birth a corpse or a child they know will only suffer before dying a slow, painful death. NOBODY is getting elective, non-necessary abortions at 20+ weeks. Nobody goes through 5-6 months of pregnancy to decide once the fetus is potentially viable they no longer want it. This bill explicitly targets WANTED pregnancies and WANTED babies that do not have any chance of survival on their own. Ask yourself; if you pass this bill, would you feel guilty knowing that a couple excited for their child was just told that not only will their baby die shortly after birth, but that they MUST sit there and watch it happen, watching their baby in pain instead of having the option to terminate? Would you feel guilty knowing that a baby that cannot breathe on its own suffered and suffocated for 9 hours before finally passing away BECAUSE of your bill? KNOWING that had you not passed this bill, the baby could have been simply terminated before they ever knew that pain? Could you live with yourself knowing that couples who are already mourning the child they’ve spent 6 months loving and preparing for must now watch that same child suffer and die fully conscious, when they could have never known that pain? I know I couldn’t. Oppose this bill. Do not cause any more unnecessary suffering and heartache to expectant parents who are already hearing the worst news of their lives. Do not make these babies live a short, horrifically painful life they do not have to live. Whether you think abortion is murder or not, you should be able to agree that preventing unnecessary suffering in newborns should be a priority for us all. This bill forces that suffering to happen.