Democrats block Republican bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks

Just 48 hours ahead of the pope's visit to Congress, Senate Democrats blocked Republican legislation Tuesday that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. While senators voted 54-42 to move forward with the bill, that tally fell six votes short of the requisite 60 votes needed to advance the bill. The House had passed the bill back in May.

If passed, the bill would have cut down the current legal limit of 27 weeks of pregnancy, which is the end of the second trimester, to 20 weeks of pregnancy for an abortion and set up criminal penalties for doctors who disobeyed. Republicans argued that fetuses can feel pain at 20 weeks and thus abortions beyond that point are inhumane. They also pointed out that "only seven countries in the world allow abortions after 20 weeks," The Hill reports.

Democrats, however, highlight the fact that the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has said that fetal pain is "unlikely" before a pregnancy hits the third trimester, The New York Times reports. Moreover, USA Today reports that "only about 1 percent of abortions are performed after 20 weeks of pregnancy, and they are often done because something is seriously wrong with the fetus or the mother's health is at risk."

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The abortion debate will continue this week with votes on two bills passed by the House Friday, including one that would bar federal funding for Planned Parenthood and another that would protect babies that survived attempted abortions.