By Dave Andrusko
WASHINGTON —One by one. When newly elected pro-life Rep. Jake Ellzey (R-TX) signed the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act discharge petition today, it raised to 213 the number of House Members who have joined forces to attempt to bring this anti-infanticide measure to the House floor for a vote. The goal is 218 (see below).
For a complete list of the signers, click here.
While pro-abortion Democrats insist such legislation is unnecessary or repetitive, in truth, there is no federally mandated mechanism to punish abortionists who indulge in what is clearly passive infanticide—death by omission.
Let’s go through the process of forcing a House vote.
What is a discharge petition? It’s a way around hostile committees. If 218 signatures are secured, the legislation—in this case H.R. 619– would be brought directly to the floor for a vote. At that juncture, Democrats would bob and weave, distort and misrepresent, but there would be a real debate over how abortion survivors should be treated (or, if you are a Democrat, not treated).
Or, why is the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act even needed? Pro-abortion Democrats insist the 2002 Born-Alive Infant Protection Act suffices. But it doesn’t—and, of course, they know that.
There is no enforcement provision! That is, there is no federal law governing the actions of abortionists who deny care to babies who survive abortions. Abortion survivors are left to the tender mercies of the guy who just tried to kill them.
Or, is there a reason to believe a discharge petition is even needed in the first place? We have written about this on many occasions, usually quoting pro-life Members of the House of Representative.
Here’s just one voice —but a very important one: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). He described the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act as “legislation that would have ensured that every child who survives an abortion is transported to a hospital and administered the same medical care any other baby would receive.”
McCarthy added, “If there is one thing Republicans and Democrats should be able to agree on it is that, once born, every baby deserves protection and has a right to live.” However, “tragically, this isn’t the case.”
McCarthy concluded, correctly, “Killing a baby that was born alive is infanticide, there’s no other way to put it. What Democrats are supporting is unconscionable.”