OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A group of Catholic bishops in the United States has scorched Democrats for their recent vote against the “Born Alive” legislation that was passed by House Republicans.
“We commend the House of Representatives for passing legislation to protect innocent children from infanticide, and urge the Senate to follow suit,” Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Pro-Life Activities said. “Babies who are born alive during the process of an abortion deserve compassionate care and medical attention – just the same as any other newborn baby.”
The bill states that any human being born after an attempted abortion failed is a “legal person for all purposes under the laws of the United States.” And doctors would be required to care for them as “reasonably diligent and conscientious health care practitioner would render to any other child born alive.”
All 210 “no” votes came from Democrats with only one vote in favor of the legislation coming from Democrat Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar and fellow Democrat Texas Rep. Vicente Gonzalez voted present.
Many Catholic bishops shredded the Democrats who voted against it.
“The moral corruption on display here is devastating for this nation,” Bishop Joseph Strickland of the Diocese of Tyler said, Fox News reported. “How can we hope for peace when elected officials have such a blatant disregard for the sanctity of life? To be silent in the face of this evil is to be complicit with this evil. We must say NO!”
“To members of Congress who voted against the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act — you just voted against giving basic medical care to a struggling newborn child. How heartless, barbaric and cruel. Shame on you,” Bishop Thomas Tobin of the Diocese of Providence in Rhode Island said.
Democrat Senate Majority Leader and New York Sen. Charles Schumer issued a statement calling the legislation “extreme” and said it was “doomed” in the Senate.
“These bills are doomed in the Senate. American women deserve to have their right to healthcare protected, not undermined,” the senator said.
“Just months after a historically disappointing midterm election, the MAGA Republican controlled House is putting on full display their truly extreme views on women’s health with legislation that does not have the support of the American people. Once again, Republicans are proving how dangerously out of touch they are with mainstream America. The American people elected Senate Democrats to be a firewall against this extreme anti-choice MAGA Republican agenda,” he said.
CNN reported.
Under the bill, health providers who fail to comply with the requirements for care could face fines or up to five years in prison. The bill would not impose penalties on the mother and would grant the mother protection from any kind of prosecution.
Opponents have argued that such measures restrict abortion access by threatening health care providers. It is already considered homicide in the US to intentionally kill an infant that is born alive.
The decision by the new Republican majority to hold the vote comes after Democrats worked to make abortion a front-and-center issue during the midterm elections following Roe’s reversal. Republicans succeeded in taking back control of the House in the midterms, but a much-anticipated “red wave” failed to materialize, leading to questions – and finger pointing within the GOP – over exactly which factors played a key role in the outcome.
The measure the House voted on – called the “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act” – was introduced on Monday by Republican Rep. Ann Wagner of Missouri.
“These bills make it plain: House Republicans are patently rejecting the will of the overwhelming majority of Americans who voted to support legal abortion in November,” NARAL Pro-Choice America president Mini Timmaraju said. “Meanwhile, our Democratic reproductive freedom champions in the House are ready and willing to fight to restore and expand access to abortion—and we thank them for that.”
Republican South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace said that her party needs to balance women’s rights and the rights of unborn babies.
“I have been very vocal, both privately with my leadership, and also publicly,” she said. “This is an issue that we lost on. We buried our heads in the sand after Roe v. Wade, and we lost seats because of this issue.”
