| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 4, 2019 |
CONTACT: Mallory Quigley [email protected] | 202-223-8073 |
Washington, D.C. – Today the national pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) slammed U.S. Senate Democrats for blocking the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, legislation introduced by Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) to protect babies born alive in failed abortions. Sen. Sasse went to the floor and asked his colleagues to pass the bill by unanimous consent, but Democrats led by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) objected.
“Senate Democrats had the chance today to prove they are not the party of infanticide, and instead they doubled down on extremism,” said SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “The Democratic Party’s agenda of abortion on demand through birth and even beyond is radically out of step with the standards of decency the overwhelming majority of Americans expect from their leaders. We urge the Senate to bring the bill to the floor for a recorded vote so Americans can know where each senator stands, and we urge its passage. It’s time to get this bill swiftly to the President’s desk for his signature.”
SBA List’s National Campaign Chair Jill Stanek, a former nurse who witnessed late-term babies born alive during abortion procedures and left to die, said, “It is appalling to watch Democrat senators argue against this compassionate bill. In abortion facilities and hospitals around the country, children born alive have been denied medical care and left to die – cold, alone, abandoned and discarded like medical waste. Pleading ignorance is not an option especially in the wake of efforts in New York and Virginia to legalize infanticide. Everyone should be able to agree on equal protection under the law for these children.”
The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act builds on the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 2002, which clarified as a matter of federal law that “every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development” is a “person” for all federal law purposes. The 2002 law made explicit that this status applies irrespective of the manner in which the child was born alive, including via an attempted induced abortion. It was passed by unanimous consent in the Senate.
The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act is designed to further clarify the duty of care owed to infants born alive during an attempted abortion. If born alive as a result of an abortion or attempted abortion, the child must be administered reasonable care and transported immediately to a hospital. Failure to provide this standard of reasonable care would lead to criminal prosecution of the abortionist, not the mother. In addition, the mother has a civil remedy of action against the abortionist should he fail to comply with the law.
Over the weekend, hundreds of pro-life activists held a peaceful rally to oppose abortion extremism in Virginia outside what was supposed to be a townhall meeting held by State Delegate Kathy Tran, who introduced and defended legislation, backed by Governor Ralph Northam, to allow abortion up until the moment of birth – even as a woman is in labor. Tran cancelled the event late Friday citing “security concerns.” President Trump has spoken out against Delegate Tran’s extreme pro-abortion bill.
SBA List is a network of more than 700,000 pro-life Americans nationwide, dedicated to ending abortion by electing national leaders and advocating for laws that save lives, with a special calling to promote pro-life women leaders.
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