PRESIDENT James R. Hines, MD CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER David Stevens, MD _________________________ May 11, 2015 Dear Member of Congress: BOARD OF REFERENCE Ronald W. Blue Founder and President Ronald Blue & Co. Lawrence J. Crabb, Jr., Ph.D President Institute of Biblical Counseling Anthony T. Evans, ThD President The Urban Alternative The Late C. Everett Koop, MD Former U.S. Surgeon General Walt Larimore, MD Family Physician, Author, Medical Journalist Duane Litfin, Phd Past President Wheaton College Josh McDowell Director Josh McDowell Ministries Haddon Robinson, PhD Professor Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary I am writing on behalf of the 14,000 members of the Christian Medical Association to express our wholehearted support H.R. 36, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. We physicians support this bill because it is consistent with scientific integrity, compassion and the medical principle of informed consent: • Scientific integrity calls for an objective presentation of the major advances in scientific knowledge about fetal development and pain perception. Developing babies at this age feel pain; they grimace and withdraw during procedures. The more experience we have with very premature babies in intensive-care units, the clearer it becomes that no rationale can justify harming them in utero at the same age. • Compassion demands that next to protecting life and promoting healing, a physician must do all in his or her power to alleviate pain. • Informed consent requires that any woman contemplating an abortion receive full and objective information about the procedure--including the pain her developing child will experience. We urge you to support this vital legislation. Thank you for your consideration of these views. Joni Eareckson Tada President JAF Ministries Ravi Zacharias President Ravi Zacharias International Ministries _____________________ P.O. Box 7500 Bristol, TN 37621-7500 Phone: (423) 844-1000 Fax: (423) 844-1005 e-mail: [email protected] www.cmda.org David L. Stevens, MD, MA (Ethics) Chief Executive Officer Christian Medical & Dental Associations