Rep. Trent Franks on 20-week abortion ban: ‘If we cannot protect the most helpless, we do not deserve to govern’

Earlier this month, by a 237-189 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation banning abortions, with limited exceptions, past 20 weeks gestation. Doctors have testified that preborn children can feel pain by this point, with recent research suggesting they can feel it as early as the first trimester.

The next day, the bill was introduced in the Senate. Should it pass, the legislation will make its way to President Donald Trump’s desk, who, as a candidate, committed to signing such legislation.

189 House representatives voted against the bill. Now, the fear is that the bill faces an uphill battle in the Senate. A CRTV Capitol Hill Brief video, “Will GOP senators let ‘arcane rules’ doom innocent babies?”, explains what concerns may lie ahead. “During our interview, [House sponsor Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz)] told me that the bill could pass the Senate,” interviewer Nate Madden explained. “But that its two biggest enemies right now are Senate Democrats ready to kill it with a filibuster, and a GOP leadership willing to let them run the show.”

Those who would vote against it fail to protect pain-capable preborn children from the excruciating pain of a second trimester D&E abortion, which literally tears the preborn child limb from limb. Former abortionist Dr. Anthony Levatino, who committed over 1,200 abortions, explains the procedure below:

2nd Trimester Surgical Abortion: Dilation and Evacuation (D & E)

Franks noted, “I truly believe this is a test of Senator McConnell’s leadership.” He says McConnell “has already admitted, clearly, that the filibuster is not a principled issue.” Franks also said:

So now the question is, will he back away from this effort to maintain ‘the traditions of the Senate,’ at the cost of blood and suffering of little innocent children, trying to get into the light and the breath of life? If he chooses to hide behind the filibuster, some of us will do everything that we can to change that and his mind, or change him.

When asked what would happen if McConnell could not get the legislation passed, Franks did not mince words:

If we as an American people, and a U.S. Senate, a U.S. Congress, and a White House, if we cannot find the political will and the courage to protect these the most helpless of all human beings, then in the final analysis I don’t think we’ll find the will and the courage to protect any kind of liberty for anyone, and we do not deserve to govern.

Franks has shared his concerns before, in an op-ed for Fox News, expressing that the bill “deserves a straight up or down vote in the Senate.” He also noted that the Senate changed the 60 vote rule to confirm Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court.

McConnell has offices throughout Kentucky, and his Washington, D.C., office can be contacted by calling (202) 224-2541.