A vote to stop infanticide was blocked by Senate Democrats Feb. 4 when Republicans offered an amendment to provide medical care for babies that survive botched abortions.
Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska filed the Born Alive amendment that would hold abortionists liable when they leave a living baby to die after an abortion.
Senator Dick Durbin (D-Il) countered the pro-life effort and blocked the vote claiming it “violated” the rules. Sasse countered by calling on the Senate to waive the rules, as it had done for other amendments, and allow a vote on the Born Alive Amendment. The motion, which required 60 votes, was defeated by Democrat Senators by a 52-48 margin but not before two pro-life Democrats joined Republicans. Those two Democrat Senators were West Virginia’s Joe Manchin and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania.
The amendment was made to the $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill that passed the Senate on a party-line vote overnight with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the deciding vote.
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In 2020, a hearing on the Born Alive bill was held with little coverage in the national media. At the time, Sasse stated “This hearing is not about overturning Roe v. Wade. In fact, this hearing is not actually about limiting access to abortion at all. This hearing isn’t a debate about third-trimester, or second-trimester, or first-trimester abortion. This hearing is about making sure that every newborn baby has a fighting chance — whether she’s born in a labor and delivery ward or whether she’s born in an abortion clinic.”
Penny Nance, President of Concerned Women called out Democrats for their unwavering support for abortion to birth. “Planned Parenthood and abortion extremists’ death grip have once again prevailed through the Democrat party,” Nance stated. “Today they voted to turn their backs to protect babies who feel pain or are born alive from a failed abortion. It is unconscionable that Democrats stand on the side of authoritarian regimes like China and North Korea who condone the killing of unborn children until birth and leave unwanted newborns to die. Unfortunately, that is where our country’s laws stand today.”
Republicans say they will continue to offer amendments that put the lives of babies at the center of Senate debates, and putting Democrats on record.
–Dwight Widaman | Metro Voice