The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, spearheaded by Republican Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma, stipulates that healthcare providers must extend the "same degree of professional skill, care and diligence" to a child surviving a botched abortion as they would during a standard childbirth. Despite a 52-47 vote in favor, the bill fell short of the 60-vote threshold necessary to overcome a filibuster.
As reported by the Daily Caller, Senator Lankford expressed his disapproval of his Democratic colleagues' stance, stating on the Senate floor, "Yesterday my [Democratic] colleagues spent an hour on the floor saying that that child [who survives a botched abortion] should die. I disagree." He further emphasized the gravity of the issue, noting, "This is not just an academic issue. It’s real. It [infanticide] is already illegal … but what is still allowed is a tiny, little loophole that if an abortion is botched, everyone can just back away and watch the child die. They do not have to give that child medical care."
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Senate Majority Leader John Thune had anticipated the Democratic opposition, predicting their votes against the legislation prior to the cloture vote. Thune remarked, "They will vote against protection for a living, breathing newborn baby because that child has been born alive after an attempted abortion. They are afraid if they recognize the humanity of a living, breathing born baby in an abortion clinic they might end up pointing to the humanity of the unborn baby in the abortion clinic."
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Conversely, Senate Democrats, under the leadership of Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, criticized the bill as being "pernicious as they come," arguing that it "attacks women’s health care using false narratives and outright fear-mongering and adds more legal risk for doctors on something that’s already illegal."
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The legislative battle is set to continue in the House, where a similar bill introduced by Republican Representative Ann Wagner of Missouri is scheduled for a vote later this week. Wagner's bill previously passed the House in January 2023 with minimal Democratic support but ultimately stalled in the Senate due to Democratic opposition and Schumer's decision not to advance the bill.
Meanwhile, pro-life advocates are preparing to converge on Washington D.C. for the annual March for Life, underscoring the ongoing national debate over abortion and the rights of the unborn.