Utah will become the first state to require anesthesia for women receiving abortions after 20 weeks gestation. Let’s be clear: This is not about sparing women pain. The law is based on the (scientifically questionable) claim that fetuses can feel pain after 20 weeks, and requires that women be anesthetized in order to spare fetuses the pain that science says they probably do not have the neural development to feel. That has serious implications for women’s health:
Dr. Sean Esplin of Intermountain Healthcare in Utah said anesthesia or an analgesic would need to go through the woman in order to reach the fetus. Doctors could give a woman general anesthesia, which would make her unconscious and likely require a breathing tube, or a heavy dose of narcotics.
In case you had any doubt that this law is about punishing women for being sinners in the eyes of the lawmakers who passed the law, there’s this:
The new law would not apply to women who must have an abortion because their life is at risk or the fetus will not survive outside the womb.
Especially given that exclusion, this is a law that will apply to almost no one—just 17 women had abortions at 20 weeks or later in Utah in 2014. It’s the statement that matters, though: If you are having an abortion for insufficiently heartrending reasons, Utah lawmakers will replace your doctor’s judgment with their own and force you to have medically unnecessary and potentially dangerous anesthesia.