Fetal Anesthesia Required in Utah

New York Times (May 5, 2016): Utah Law on Fetal Pain Stokes Fight on Abortion, by Jack Healey:

At 20 weeks or more into a pregnancy, women undergoing an abortion in Utah will first have to be given anesthesia for the fetus.  The new requirement, which took effect yesterday, is the latest development in the abortion controversy over the idea of fetal pain.  Most scientists agree that a fetus's brain and nervous system are not capable of registering pain until 27 weeks of gestation.  Proponents of the law purport to be acting out of concern for the fetus and "common decency"; opponents cite concerns ranging from the law's intrusion into the doctor-patient relationship to its baffling vagueness and scientific unsoundness.  Some doctors have asked what types of anesthesia the law requires and whether it must be injected through the woman's abdominal wall.  The law contains exceptions for rape and incest, fetuses that have "uniformly lethal" conditions, and the life and health of the woman.