Congressman Diane Black (R-TN) released the following statement regarding her support of H.R. 1797, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which passed the House with bipartisan support on Tuesday, June 18. Black is a co-sponsor of H.R. 1797 and spoke on the House floorurging her colleagues to vote in favor of this legislation to protect life and women’s health.

 “When I became a nurse more than 40 years ago, I took a vow to devote myself to the welfare of those committed to my care. It is in this spirit of both protecting life and women’s health, I am proud to support the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, and I urge the U.S. Senate to heed the will of the American people and follow the House’s lead by passing H.R. 1797 without any further delay. This bipartisan legislation would ban late-term abortions after twenty weeks - with exceptions provided for instances of rape, incest or when the life of the mother is endangered. H.R. 1797 is based on sound scientific evidence which tells us that unborn children by 20 weeks into pregnancy can feel pain and that late-term abortions pose severe health risks for the mother,” said Congressman Black.