| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 13, 2020 |
CONTACT: Mallory Quigley [email protected] |
Extremist Democrats Urged to Stop Blocking Popular Legislation to #EndInfanticide and Abortions Halfway Through Pregnancy
Washington, D.C. – Today U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell filed cloture on the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act and the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, setting the stage for consecutive votes expected to take place this month. In response, the national pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) released the following statement:
“Democrats are proving to be completely out of step with their base on abortion, and they are feeling it. It’s time they see that consensus is necessary to move forward on this debate in a way that honors American opinion. This is not only the right thing to do but the politically smart thing to do,” said SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “The overwhelming majority of Americans – including 75 percent of Independents and 70 percent of Democrats – want Congress to ensure that babies who survive abortions receive the medical care they deserve. A strong majority want to protect unborn children after five months of pregnancy, when we know they can feel excruciating pain. These compassionate, common-ground bills would have become law long ago, were it not for extremist Democrats beholden to the radical abortion lobby.
“Hillary Clinton’s support for abortion up to the moment of birth is a significant reason why Donald Trump is in the Oval Office. Yet so far, the 2020 Democratic field has taken abortion extremism to a new level, supporting not only late-term abortion, but even infanticide, and demanding that all abortions are paid for by taxpayers. This is a major political liability. It is also not worthy of America’s founding documents and human rights victories over time.
“We thank President Trump for continually calling out the extremists blocking the will of the people, and for calling on Congress during his State of the Union address to finally end late-term abortions. We are so grateful to Leader Mitch McConnell, Chairman Lindsey Graham, and Senator Ben Sasse for their steadfast pro-life leadership in the U.S. Senate.”
Earlier this week the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, led by the author of the bill, Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE). SBA List’s National Campaign Chair Jill Stanek, a former nurse who witnessed babies being born alive and left to die, and Dr. Robin Pierucci, M.D., M.A., a clinical neonatologist and associate scholar with SBA List’s research arm, Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) gave testimony.
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) introduced the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act in the Senate. Known as “Micah’s Law” in honor of Micah Pickering, who was born prematurely at twenty weeks (22 weeks gestation) in 2012, this legislation would protect unborn children from late-term abortion after five months, more than halfway through pregnancy, a point by which science shows they can feel pain.
The Born-Alive Survivors Protection Act was first introduced by Senator Sasse in January of 2019. In February of last year, Senate Democrats voted to block the bill.
Democratic Party leaders in the House of Representatives have refused more than 80 requests by pro-life Republicans to hold a vote on companion legislation introduced by Rep. Ann Wagner in February 2019. 204 members of Congress have signed a discharge petition filed by Whip Scalise to hold a vote on the bill. If a majority of representatives sign the petition, it will force a vote by the full House.
Nationwide polling released by SBA List finds that 77 percent 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 (55 percent strongly support).
SBA List is a network of more than 837,000 pro-life Americans nationwide, dedicated to ending abortion by electing national leaders and advocating for laws that save lives, with a special calling to promote pro-life women leaders.
###
