Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., is reintroducing the the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act in the Senate following New York legalizing abortion up to birth last week and the Virginia Legislature considering a similar bill Monday.
“Everybody loves babies and that love has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with just having a heart,” Sasse said in a statement.
“This legislation is an opportunity for Congress to find consensus built on common sense, compassion, science, and a simple fact: every baby deserves a fighting chance at life. Providing care for newborns is more important than partisan political divides. Every baby has dignity—every baby deserves protection and love.”
Sasse will be asking the Senate to agree to pass the bill by unanimous consent Monday, National Review reports, adding that on the Senate floor, Sasse said, “On Monday, I’m going to ask all 100 senators to come to the floor and be against infanticide. This shouldn’t be complicated.”
On Monday, Virginia House of Delegates Majority Leader Todd Gilbert asked Delegate Kathy Tran, the Democrat who sponsored the Virginia abortion bill, how far her legislation would go.
“So where it’s obvious that a woman is about to give birth, she has physical signs that she’s about [to] give birth, would that still be a point at which she could still request an abortion if she was so certified?” Gilbert asked Tran. “She’s dilating.”
“My bill would allow that, yes,” Tran answered.
On Wednesday, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat and pediatric neurologist, defended the Virginia bill to legalize abortion right up to birth.
“If a mother is in labor … the infant would be delivered,” Northam said. “The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and mother.”
At a press conference Thursday addressing his controversial comments, Northam said, “We’re here to set the record straight. Virginia Democrats are on the side of ensuring women get the health care they need.”
In a Senate speech Thursday, Sasse said, per National Review, “We’re talking about killing a baby that’s been born. We’re not talking about some euphemism, we’re not talking about a clump of cells. We’re talking about a little baby girl who’s been born and is on a table in a hospital or a medical facility and then a decision or a debate would be had about whether or not you could kill that little baby.”
“We’re talking about the most vulnerable among us, and we have a public official in America out there again and again defending a practice,” he added. “This is infanticide that we’re talking about.”
In an interview Thursday, Tran addressed her comments from Monday defending abortion up to birth.
“I wish that I was quicker on my feet and I wish that I was able to be more agile in that moment,” Tran said, The Washington Post reported. “And I misspoke, and I really regret that.”
According to a press release from Sasse’s office, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act “would protect newborns that survive abortions by requiring appropriate care and admission to a hospital.”
“The legislation requires that, when an abortion results in the live birth of an infant, health care practitioners must exercise the same degree of professional skill and care to protect the newborn as would be offered to any other child born alive at the same gestational age,” states Sasse’s office. “It also requires that the living child, after appropriate care has been given, be immediately transported and admitted to a hospital.”
The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act’s sponsors in the Senate include freshman Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas; Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla.; and Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga.
