Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert (R) on Thursday told a woman that she wrong to have an abortion after it was discovered late during her pregnancy that her fetus had no brain function.

At a House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice hearing to push for a 20-week abortion ban, Christy Zink testified that the bill would have required her “to carry to term and give birth to a baby whom the doctors concurred had no chance of a life and would have experienced near-constant pain.”

ADVERTISEMENT

“Being there in a neonatal ICU, I did see that there was one child there that was missing parts including a spine,” Gohmert said, recalling the birth of his daughter. “And the parents ended up, when it was clear that there was no brain activity whatsoever, there was decisions that they had to make at that point.”

“Ms. Zink, having my great sympathy and empathy both, I still come back wondering, shouldn’t we wait, like that couple did, and see if the child can survive before we decide to rip him apart?” he asked. “So, these are ethical issues, they’re moral issues, they’re difficult issues, and the parents should certainly be consulted.”

“But it just seems like, it’s a more educated decision if the child is in front of you to make those decisions.”

Earlier this month, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a similar 20-week abortion ban in Arizona was unconstitutional.

Watch this video from the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, broadcast May 23, 2013.

ADVERTISEMENT

(h/t: Think Progress)