Today in Albuquerque

When I say the word “Albuquerque” I think of Elmer Fudd who, if remember I correctly, was from Albuquerque.  Or was that Bugs Bunny?

But this is no laughing matter.  Today in Albuquerque, citizens will hopefully vote for the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Ordinance.  The Ordinance reads thus:

(9)    Consequently, there is substantial medical evidence that an unborn child is capable of experiencing pain at least by 20 weeks after fertilization, if not earlier.

(10) The Citizens of Albuquerque assert a compelling governmental interest in protecting the lives of unborn children from the stage at which substantial medical evidence indicates that the are capable of feeling pain.

(11) The compelling governmental interest in protecting the lives of unborn children from the stage at which substantial medical evidence indicates that they are capable of feeling pain is asserted in addition to the compelling interest in protecting the lives of unborn children from the stage of viability. Neither governmental interest is intended to replace the other.

The Campaign web-site is complete with video and radio spots. 

When I reflect on this Ordinance, I  wonder if we are not at the end of the “slippery slope”.  Forty years ago when abortion was legalized in Canada and the US, advocates spoke of if being only in dire need (ie. “health” reasons), if a panel of doctors agreed, and back then we didn’t have ultrasound, so the “glob of tissue” argument flew.  Surely no one ever dreamed that today we’d be trying to convince the status quo that late second and third trimester babies ought to have their lives protected; that, yes, they actually do feel pain.  It is common medical practice to administer anesthetics to babies during prenatal surgeries, babies younger than 20 weeks. Drawing and quartering them in late abortions would be quite an ordeal from their perspective.

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Update on Albuquerque

The  Albuquerque Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Ordinance lost by 10.5% of the vote. The final tally was 44.74-55.26%.  See here.

Interesting to see that the ‘other side’s’ campaign was funded to the hilt.

The opposition to the ordinance, which would have been the first-ever municipal ballot measure to ban abortions after 20 weeks when babies are known to feel pain, outspent the pro-life campaigns by a margin of 4 to 1. In addition, Organizing for Action, which was heavily involved in Albuquerque, is essentially President Obama’s presidential campaign, which continues to advance a radical leftist agenda. Their experience helped turn out “against” votes in early voting that made the difference in the outcome of the race.

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