By Dave Andrusko
On Friday, reliably pro-abortion Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act —House Bill 2313/SB 320—in the face of massive support in the Kansas legislature. Late last month, the vote to protect babies that survive abortions was 31-9 vote in the state Senate and last Tuesday it passed by another lopsided vote of 86-36 in the state House.
Gov. Kelly portrayed her opposition on the highest of high grounds. “The intent of this bill is to interfere in medical decisions that should remain between doctors and their patients,” she said. The legislation, Kelly added, was “misleading and unnecessary.”
In fact, all this legislation does is require that infants who survive abortion attempts be given the same degree of medical care as other children born alive at the same gestational age. In addition, it requires the abortion facility to transport the baby to the hospital.
House Speaker Dan Hawkins vowed to override her veto. Hawkins said he was saddened that Gov. Kelly “has chosen to abandon the dignity of life by allowing for the ending of an infant’s life even once it’s outside the womb.”
Her veto “gives abortionists free reign to walk away as a living, breathing baby dies,” Hawkins said. “This is not only radical, but also inhumane and I am confident House Republicans will make every effort during veto session to protect all living, breathing infants in our state regardless of the conditions surrounding their birth.”
Danielle Underwood, Kansans for Life Director of Communications, said
Legislators from both sides of the aisle stood together to state the simple fact that babies born alive after an attempted abortion should not be left to die on a cold, steel, table. These babies deserve protection and the same medical care as any other newborn of the same gestational age. This once again proves how out of touch Gov. Kelly is with the values of the people of Kansas. We now call on all Kansans to urge their legislators to do the right thing and override Gov. Kelly’s heartless veto.
Melissa Ohden, who survived a saline abortion in 1977, said “Kansas deserves better than Gov. Kelly’s veto of this bill.” The Founder of the Abortion Survivors Network, added “We remain committed to serving survivors of abortion at any gestational age, along with their mothers, who deserve compassionate prenatal and postpartum care, a delivery plan and emotional support.”
There is strong support for the legislation. A McLaughlin poll found that 77% of voters support legislation to ensure that a baby who survives a failed abortion be given the same medical treatment as any other baby born prematurely at the same age.