Today, House Democratic officials blocked the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act for consideration for the 50th time. The bill would require medical care for an infant born alive during a botched abortion and for medical providers to protect the baby’s right to life or face punishment, something Republicans argue is a “fundamental right.” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA 23rd) exclusively told Townhall that the Democratic Party’s refusal to even discuss the measure is “incredibly frustrating” and a “devastating shame.”
“I never thought I’d see this Congress move so far left to the point that making sure proper medical care is provided to babies who survive abortions is a conversation barred from being had on this House floor,” Leader McCarthy said in a statement given to Townhall.
“When I expressed back in February that House Republicans would ask again and again for this bill to be brought to the floor for a vote, I never expected this day to come. I never expected that after more than three months, 50 requests, and a filed discharge petition, House Democrats would still not regard the life of a baby outside the womb worthy enough of an up or down vote on the floor,” Leader McCarthy added.
The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act was introduced by Missouri Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO 2nd) in February of this year. The act would amend federal law to require a “health care practitioner who is present” during the time of a botched abortion to “exercise the same degree of care as reasonably provided to another child born alive at the same gestational age.” It would also require the individual to “immediately admit the child to a hospital.”
Image Credit: Jose Luis Magana/AP
