Indiana House Committee Approves Bill That Would Establish Fetus Viability at 20 Weeks Gestation

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 21 Feb 2005 - 9:00 PDT

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The Indiana House Committee on Public Policy and Veterans Affairs on Wednesday approved a bill... (HB 1690) that would establish fetal viability at 20 weeks gestation, the Indianapolis Star reports. The bill states that a fetus at 20 weeks gestation requires "no additional medical evaluation" to establish its viability. The bill raises "myriad" legal questions that could have implications for legal abortion and prenatal care in the state, according to the Star. The measure -- originally introduced by state Reps. Eric Turner (R), Tim Harris (R), Jeff Thompson (R) and Peggy Welch (D) as a stand-alone bill -- was attached to another abortion-related bill before being approved by the committee. The measure now goes to the full House. If the measure is signed into law, it would be the first law nationwide to establish fetal viability based on a fetus's gestational age. Arthur Caplan, director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania, said that there is no medical evidence suggesting that an infant born at 20 weeks gestation is viable, according to the Star (Penner, Indianapolis Star, 2/17).

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