Arkansas Senator John Boozman signed on last week as a co-sponsor of the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).

This is a federal proposal that tracks closely with Act 171, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act sponsored by Rep. Andy Mayberry and passed by the Arkansas Legislature earlier this year.

Legislation like this just commonsense. According to medical experts, by the 20th week of pregnancy, an unborn child is capable of feeling pain–and abortion is a very painful process. The risk of a woman suffering medical complications from abortion is also significantly higher by the 20th week of pregnancy and continues go up from there. With this in mind, prohibiting abortion after the 20th week of pregnancy is a sensible thing to do–and it could save the lives of as many as 18,000 unborn babies each year.

You can read the full language of the federal Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act here.

If you would like to thank Senator Boozman for co-sponsoring the act, click here.