by Mary Margaret Olohan
The Democratic House majority blocked a bill Friday that would have protected babies born alive in botched abortions.
Democrats voted against the Republican “Motion to Recommit” on the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act with a vote of 187-220.
The bill was offered by Republican Oregon Rep. Greg Walden and Republican Missouri Rep. Ann Wagner. Zero GOP representatives voted against the motion to recommit to the Born Alive Act.
Democratic Reps. Collin Peterson of Minnesota, Ben McAdams of Utah and Dan Lipinski of Illinois voted with Republicans in support of the bill.
The vote comes after the Senate voted Tuesday on Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham’s Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, and Republican Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse’s Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.
As expected, Senate Republicans did not muster the needed 60 votes Tuesday to pass either pro-life bill.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said that the bills pose “moral questions” that Democrats must answer, The New York Times reported.
Sasse noted in a Friday statement that though Democratic politicians may vote against these House and Senate pieces of pro-life legislation, “they can’t say they don’t know what’s at stake.”
“This week the American people have watched cynical politicians in the Senate and House vote against protecting newborns,” Sasse said. “Politicians can turn their backs on these babies, but they can’t say they don’t know what’s at stake.”
The senator emphasized that the Born Alive Act is not about abortion, but instead about ensuring that newborn babies get the care they need.
“Politicians can demagogue about ‘choice’ all they want and the media can run nonsense about ‘fetuses that were born,’ but this issue is not going away,” he added. “I want to thank my House colleagues for their persistence. Compassion, truth, and love are going to win this fight for babies.”
Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser noted in a statement that Democrats back their presidential candidates in “supporting abortion on-demand, up until the moment of birth, and even supporting infanticide.”
“Americans of all political stripes are disgusted by this extreme, inhumane position and we are confident that will be reflected at the ballot box this November,” Dannenfelser said.
“President Trump stands ready to sign the popular, compassionate Born-Alive legislation into law,” she added. “It is national Democrats – from the party’s leading presidential contenders to Nancy Pelosi – who stand squarely in the way of protecting these innocent children from being left to die.”
March for Life President Jeanne Mancini noted that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy forced Democrats to vote on “one the most pro-abortion House of Representatives in history.”
“It is deeply saddening that anyone would vote against such basic protections for the most vulnerable among us,” Mancini said, adding that the March for Life “will continue to advocate for the discharge position to force more votes on this important piece of legislation so that constituents know where their representatives stand on this common sense piece of legislation.”
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Mary Margaret Olohan is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation.
