Democrat blockage of the “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act” has prompted plenty of commentary, from the right decrying Democrats as baby killers, to the left labeling it a win for women’s reproductive rights, to some calling the whole affair a brilliant strategy by Republicans to secure victory in 2020. However, some of the most important aspects of this matter are being overlooked.
The subject is S. 130, a bill in the U.S. Senate that would have prohibited, and prescribed punishment for, the killing of a child who survives an attempted abortion and is “born-alive,” living and breathing outside the womb. It also would have prescribed penalties for failing to provide medical care to such a child, thereby causing the child to die by means of neglect. Democrats blocked the bill from coming to a vote by means of a filibuster which Republicans failed to override.
It should be noted that this legislation is nothing new, having already been introduced three times in the last session of Congress when Republicans held full control of the legislative process. H.R. 37 and S. 220 appear to have both died somewhere in the committee process with H.R. 4712 actually passing in the House, but failing to receive any action in the Senate. The most recent iteration of this legislation appears to be the only to actually suffer defeat at the hands of Democrats, which defeat has caused quite the uproar among conservatives, though the previous failures under Republican control seem to have gone unnoticed by the right. Continue reading “Some Points We’re Missing About the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act”