Parents who lost daughter in accident find joy in adoption ‘God has always been there’

Washington D.C., Jan 31, 2019 / 05:12 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- U.S. Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) has announced that he will introduce the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act to the Senate on Monday, and is calling for a voice vote to pass the measure.

Sasse announced on Thursday that he is beginning the Rule 14 process, which would bring the bill directly to the Senate floor and bypass the normal committee consideration of a piece of legislation. He said that he hopes his bill will be passed by a unanimous voice vote.

“On Monday evening, I’m going to be asking unanimous consent–for senators to come to the floor,” he said. “I’m going to ask all 100 senators to come to the floor and be against infanticide. This shouldn’t be complicated.”

Sasse started his floor speech by referencing the “morally repugnant” comments made on Wednesday by Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D). In a discussion on a WTOP radio show, Northam addressed questions regarding a bill that would have allowed abortion throughout an entire pregnancy in the state, even when a woman had already gone into labor.

“The infant would be delivered. 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 the mother,” he said.

The proposed bill was tabled later that day, amid an outpouring of criticism over the remarks by Northam and comments by the bill’s sponsor, Del. Kathy Tran (D-Fairfax).

“Let’s really be clear about what we’re talking about here. We’re talking about fourth-trimester abortion, or what anyone in the normal world calls ‘infanticide,’” said Sasse, in reference to Northam’s comments.

“This should be so far beyond any political consideration,” he said. “We’re talking about a tiny life that has done nothing wrong to warrant being left to die, cold and alone on a table.”

Sasse stressed that all of his colleagues should be able to say that killing a newborn baby is wrong, and that “this doesn’t take any political courage.”  

The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Act would penalize doctors and medical professionals who do not provide medical care to infants who survive abortions. The bill is co-sponsored by more than three dozen Republican senators.

The House version of the bill was introduced by Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and has 131 co-sponsors, including one Democrat, Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL).

Although Sasse emphasized that a voice vote should not be complicated, there is a significant chance the bill will run into opposition. When the House of Representatives voted on their version of the bill in January 2018, all but five Democrats voted against it.

Cases where infants have survived late-term abortions are rare, but do occur. Pro-life activist Gianna Jessen was born in an abortion clinic following a failed saline abortion attempt when her mother was 30 weeks pregnant.

In 2013, Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder for killing babies who had survived abortion attempts at his clinic, as well as one count of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a patient who died of an overdose in 2009. He is now serving several life sentences.

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Arlington, Va., Dec 11, 2017 / 03:48 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- An Arlington priest who was formerly a KKK member has written an apology letter and paid restitution to a family for burning a cross in their lawn in 1977.

Fr. William Aitcheson, a priest of th… […]

Washington D.C., Apr 2, 2019 / 03:00 pm (CNA).- House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) filed a discharge petition for the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act Tuesday. The petition needs 218 signatures to force a debate on the floor of the House of Representatives.

The bill would make it a crime for a doctor to refuse to provide age-appropriate medical care to an infant who survived an abortion procedure. It also would provide mothers with the opportunity to file a civil claim against their doctor.

Speaking at a press conference April 2, several members of Congress criticized Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for her refusal to give the bill a hearing. House Republicans have requested that the legislation be considered 25 times.

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), chairwoman of the Republican Conference, said that for her colleagues to truly be for the people, “that has to start with being for the most vulnerable among us, for the babies.”

“If you don’t stand with the babies, and you won’t protect the babies, you are not for the people.”

Scalise echoed Cheney’s point.

“All of us here today have a message for Nancy Pelosi: if you won’t bring it up, we’ll bring it up,” he said. “And that’s what this discharge petition is about.”

“How can you be a leader in Congress and say that they think it’s okay to murder a baby once it is born outside the womb?” Scalise asked. “It’s happening, and we’re here to make it stop.”

Scalise said that the practice of denying medical care to infants who survive abortions is “not only wrong, it’s murder” and that this should not be legal. The Born-Alive Act would make laws “consistent all across the board” to ensure that babies are cared for.

The bill must garner the signatures of a simple majority of the House of Representatives. Scalise acknowledged that this will be an “uphill battle” in the Democrat-controlled House.

“But we don’t come here to do the easy things,” he said. “We come here because it’s hard.”

The bill’s lead sponsor, Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO), said that her legislation was “a measure that has passed with bipartisan support in the past.”

Presently, 26 states have some sort of legal protection for babies who survive abortions. Wagner said that it was important that this be extended throughout the entire country.

“We need to make sure that we make this a criminal act,” said Wagner. “That we give mothers civil remedies, and that most of all, we give life-saving care to babies that are born alive.”

Wagner said she was grateful for the “brave” Democrats willing to sign the discharge petition. Right now, three Democrats have agreed to co-sponsor the bill.

“The Constitution provides for life, liberty, and equal protection under the law,” said Wagner. “Our founding fathers didn’t put an age limit on that.”

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) expressed shock that 25 requests for the bill to be considered had gone unanswered. He said that it should not come down to a discharge petition to protect the life of a newborn baby, and rejected the idea that this is a partisan issue.

“This isn’t about Republican or Democrat, it’s about life,” said McCarthy.

The members of Congress were joined at the press conference by three young women who were themselves survivors of attempted abortions.

Melissa Ohden was born at about 31 weeks of gestation, following her teenage mother’s attempted saline abortion. She described herself as “one of the children who deserve to be protected by the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.”

Ohden said that after her birth, she was “laid aside” at the hospital, until a nurse saved her life and provided her with care.

“My life never should have been left in the hands of the abortionist that day,” said Ohden. “My life never should have been to the luck of the draw of who was working that day at the hospital.”

As part of the Abortion Survivors Network, Ohden said she has been in contact with 281 other abortion survivors. She urged lawmakers to give her and her fellow survivors “the basic dignity we deserve. Give us healthcare. It is a right.”

“We fought for our lives in the womb. Do not make us fight for our lives once again when we’re born alive.”

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