Senate Democrats on Monday blocked a Republican bill that would have threatened prison for doctors who don’t try saving the life of infants born alive during abortions.
The vote was the latest instance in which Republicans have tried to go on offense on the issue and put Democratic abortion-rights lawmakers in an uncomfortable position. Supporters said the measure presented lawmakers with a simple, moral choice.
“I want to ask each and every one of my colleagues whether or not we’re OK with infanticide,” said the measure’s chief sponsor, Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb.
Opponents, noting the rarity of such births and citing laws already making it a crime to kill newborn babies, said the bill was unnecessary. They said it is part of a push by abortion opponents to curb access to the procedure and intimidate doctors who perform it, and said late-term abortions generally occur when the infant is considered incapable of surviving after birth.
[RELATED – HORROR: Virginia Governor Says It’s Okay to Kill a Baby AFTER IT IS BORN]
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., a leading Democrat on health issues, said the measure would force women to accept “care that may directly conflict with your wishes at a deeply personal, often incredibly painful moment in your life — because politicians in Washington decided their beliefs mattered more than yours.”
All prominent Democratic 2020 presidential hopefuls in the Senate voted down the measure, including Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Kamala Harris of California, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. The final vote was 53-44 to end Democratic delaying tactics — seven votes short of the 60 needed.
Three Democrats joined Republicans to support the bill — Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Doug Jones or Alabama. Three Republicans did not vote, apparently because of scheduling issues and plane flight delays — including Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Tim Scott of South Carolina.
Six Presidential candidates voted in favor of murdering babies who survive abortion. I don’t believe this to be a partisan issue. I believe every day Americans would see a baby surviving an abortion as a miracle and blessing. Our country needs a serious gut check on this issue.
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) February 27, 2019
Several dozen House Republicans, led by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., stood on the Senate floor during the vote, just as a contingent of House Democrats did last month during a crucial vote on ending the government shutdown. Republicans control the Senate by 53-47.
President Donald Trump reacted to the vote while en route to his summit in Vietnam with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, tweeting: “This will be remembered as one of the most shocking votes in the history of Congress. If there is one thing we should all agree on, it’s protecting the lives of innocent babies.”
….This will be remembered as one of the most shocking votes in the history of Congress. If there is one thing we should all agree on, it’s protecting the lives of innocent babies.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 26, 2019
The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act would have required that “any health care practitioner present” at the time of a birth “exercise the same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and health of the child as a reasonably diligent and conscientious health care practitioner would render to any other child born alive at the same gestational age.”
The bill, which exempted the mother involved in the birth from prosecution, also would have required practitioners to “ensure that the child born alive is immediately transported and admitted to a hospital.”
"Despite opposition and setbacks, despite some strange rhetoric about this bill over the course of the last week, I am hopeful in the long term."
Full video here: https://t.co/yY4fUuiFRs pic.twitter.com/zdlrcdAn0g
— Senator Ben Sasse (@SenSasse) February 26, 2019
Only 1 percent of all abortions occur after 21 weeks of pregnancy, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights. Abortions during the final weeks are rarer still.
Doctors’ and abortion-rights groups say it is extremely unusual for live infants to be born during attempted late-term abortions, which they say usually occur when the baby is extremely deformed or deemed unable to survive after birth. In such cases, families sometimes decide they want to induce labor so they can spend time with the infant before it dies.
“It only happens in instances in which we know that the baby will not ultimately survive, and a choice has been pre-made to provide just comfort care” to the baby so the parents can be with it, said Dr. Colleen McNicholas, a fellow with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
If an infant is born alive during an abortion, Sasse’s bill would require doctors to render “the same degree” of care used for any birth. The baby would have to be immediately sent to a hospital.
Doctors who violate those requirements and other medical staffers who don’t report violations could face fines and up to five years in prison. Doctors who intentionally kill a child born alive after an abortion would face prosecution under federal murder statutes — potentially a death penalty or life in prison.
Republicans in the Democratic-run House plan to try forcing a vote on a similar measure this spring. They will employ a seldom-used tactic, a petition requiring signatures from most House members to succeed. The GOP is expected to fall well short of the 20 Democratic supporters they’d need.
Republicans, eager to put congressional Democrats from swing states in an uneasy political spot, have been pouncing on the issue since it arose earlier this year in Virginia and New York.
Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a pediatric neurologist, spoke favorably in January about state legislation to ease restrictions on late-term abortions. He said “a discussion would ensue” between doctors and the family over what to do if an infant is born who is badly deformed or incapable of living. Northam has since faced pressure to resign over a racist photo that appeared in his 1984 medical school yearbook.
Trump has criticized a new abortion law in New York that permits abortions of a viable fetus after 24 weeks of pregnancy if the mother’s life is in danger — codifying conditions specified by U.S. Supreme Court rulings.
(AP)
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20 Responses
Democrat party today is nothing more than a party of baby killers, moral perverts and Israel and Jews haters..
ANY JEW WHO can still vote for a Democrat to the Presidency, Senate or the House, must question if he is really from Bnei Avrohom Yitzchok and Yaakov
Democrats: the party of murderers
And the askonim will still vote Dem
Please stand ready for the long line of misguided orthodox jews and organizations that twist into pretzels to justify this (like the irrelevant and anachronistic arguments made by orthodox institutions about how we have to because of a poor understanding of how halacha and public policy align).
Its like rodef, or something. We need it to be ‘Safe, legal, rare’ and other slippery slopes to mass murder. You know.
NYC already performs racial mass murder with its infanticide numbers, so what’s a little more?
Oh, and Trump is working for putin, or something.
Anything we need to keep justifying that Democrat vote (even though each is at least one of: antisemite, infanticide lover, and or declared socialist).
The party of the NRA, assault rifles and mass shootings still consider themselves pro-life.Hypocrisy at its best.
Let’s not forget how many people die in the hands of ICE.
It’s against the law to kill a baby. What was this bill supposed to add?
Let’s not forget how many people die in the hands of ICE.
Let’s not forget how many people die by the hands of ms-13 and the rest of the illegal immigrants
If there is one thing we should all agree on it is that President Donald Trump deserves 100M votes in 2020, and the Democratic baby murderers deserve exactly zero votes.
BTW I refer the Democrats to the 6th commandment A.K.A 1 of the 7 Noachite laws.
We shouldn’t get worried until they ban medical care for babies born alive to “deplorable” parents, such as those who cling to religion and have too many babies. Remember that the leading source of carbon emissions are humans who exhale it, so if they are really serious about climate some form of population control is necessary (perhaps the Chinese way of killing all children after the first, or the German way of wiping out unwanted social groups). Socialism leads to bad results, especially for people like us.
jackk, NRA or ICE do not not kill babies, Democrats do.
“Democrat party today is nothing more than a party of baby killers, moral perverts and Israel and Jews haters..’
How does antisemitism come into the conversation? It’s mostly Jews that have led the pro-abortion movement.
Jackk, stop lying.
The NRA is the nation’s largest and most important civil liberties organization. The GOP is justly proud of its support, as would any decent person.
Assault rifles, like all automatic weapons, are very expensive, very difficult to get, extremely tightly regulated, and never ever used for crimes. And the GOP has never done anything to make them easier to get, so it’s a pure lie to associate it with them (not that there would be anything wrong with it).
Calling the GOP “the party of mass shootings” is an outright disgusting slander. Most mass shooters have no politics at all, but the few that have had political views have been Democrats.
Finally, very few people while in ICE custody, but of course it would be impossible for nobody ever to do so, and nobody expects that to be the case. But your intent with that comment was to dishonestly insinuate that people die at the hands of ICE, which is another disgusting slander. I dare you to name even one person whom ICE has killed. It simply doesn’t happen.
adocs, it is current practice by many abortionists to deliberately deny any care to babies who survive abortion, and let them quickly die of neglect. This law would have required them to be given the same medical care that any other newborn would get automatically.
TryingToStayCalm, antisemitism comes into the conversation because the Democrats tolerate and accept it in their ranks, and give high honors to known antisemites, while the GOP has no room for antisemitism at all.
Dear Agudah and BMG
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please support only True Torah Values
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Please people, read the article. 1) It is extremely rare for a baby to be born alive after an induced abortion. 2) Once the baby is born it is protected by the laws against infanticide, so no additional laws are needed.
This law is entirely unnecessary. It is grandstanding as part of Election 2020 strategy for the Republican Party. When they vote for free and complete healthcare for all children and babies, and pass legislation that ensures that no child in this country goes hungry, then I will buy that they are “pro-life.” When they do this, however, it makes one suspect that they are just cynics, and that the only “pro” they are is pro-getting-re-elected.
Midwest2, nice diversion try, typical Democrat tactics. We all can see in your comment that you supports infantside.
Midwest2, please spare us from reading Chuck Schumer’s talking points. Just go and see the documentary movie based on real life story called “Gosnell”.
According to Jewish law, if an unborn baby is threatening the life of the mother, it is considered a “rodef”, and is to be killed to save the mother. But if it’s head is already delivered, it has equal status as the mother. May H-shem protect us from such situations and such decisions. The Christians believe the opposite, that the baby’s life always comes first. I remember when Jackeline Kennedy would go to give birth, JFK would tell the doctors that if there would arise such a situation they should save the baby and let her die.