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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The Utah Senate has approved a bill requiring doctors to tell women about to receive an abortion that a 20-week-old fetus could experience pain and that medication is available to reduce it.
House Bill 222, sponsored by Rep. Carl Wimmer, R-Herriman, is intended to make women think twice before getting an abortion and encourage those who get one to request anesthesia for the fetus.
Exceptions would be made in emergencies and doctors could tell women their opinion on whether fetuses experience pain at that stage of development.
The Senate approved the measure 22-4 on Thursday. However, it made a few changes to Wimmer's bill, and it will be sent back to the House for another vote there before it can go to the governor.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
