WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., today voted to protect unborn children at 20 weeks, or five months, from late-term abortions. H.R. 36, the “Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act,” required 60 votes in order to proceed to a final up-or-down vote. Senate Democrats filibustered the measure by a vote of 54-42.

“It is unfortunate that the Senate will not get the chance to vote on this basic human protection,” Wicker said. “Doctors use anesthesia when performing surgery on unborn children at five months because science has proven that they are capable of feeling pain. The United States is one of only seven countries in the world that allow late-term abortions, including North Korea and China. Although I continue to fight to protect the unborn, this legislation – at the very least – offers restrictions that every member of Congress should be willing to support.”

A November 2014 Quinnipiac poll found that 60 percent of Americans support this legislation.

Senator Wicker has a pro-life A-rating from the Federal National Right to Life Scorecard. He is also a lead author of S. 582, the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,” which he introduced with Senator Pat Roberts, R-Kan., in February 2015. The measure would enact a permanent, government-wide prohibition of taxpayer funding for abortion.