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WASHINGTON - The US House failed today to pass a bill that would have required doctors to offer painkillers for foetuses before they abort them.
The bill failed by a vote of 250 to 162, short of the two-thirds majority required under rules that limit debate.
It would have required abortion providers to give pregnant women a brochure stating that foetuses can feel pain when they are five months old.
It also would have required abortion providers to offer pregnant women anaesthesia for their unborn children during an abortion.
New Jersey Republican Rep. Christopher Smith, an abortion foe, said the bill would make abortion slightly more humane.
"Not only is abortion violence against children, but now we know that abortions are painful to the baby as well," Smith said in debate on the House floor. "We ought to at least allow that child pain medication."
Democrats who opposed the bill said it had no basis in science and interfered with the doctor-patient relationship.
"If we really care about women's informed consent, we shouldn't force doctors to misinform them," California Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman said.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said it knows of no legitimate scientific evidence that shows that foetuses are capable of feeling pain at 20 weeks, as the bill states.
NARAL Pro-Choice America, an abortion-rights group, has not taken a position on the bill.
The debate allowed Smith and other anti-abortion Republicans one final chance to put Democrats who support abortion rights on the defensive.
Congress is expected to adjourn by the end of the week, and Democrats will control both chambers in January.
Some Democrats said the abortion bill was a distraction from more pressing matters, such as unfinished spending bills.
"We are wasting time today on a bill that is laden with rhetoric but very little science," said California Democratic Rep. Lois Capps.
The Senate has failed to act on a similar bill introduced nearly two years ago.
- REUTERS
