In a nearly party-line vote, the House of Representatives passed the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act on January 11 by a 220-210 margin. The three Congressmen representing the western half of Virginia are 6th District Rep. Ben Cline, 9th District Rep. Morgan Griffith, and 5th District Rep. Bob Good. Like all their GOP colleagues, they voted in favor of the bill. The evidence that Western and Central Virginia are strongly pro-life regions is proven by the fact that all three of the Congressmen representing this area have pro-life voting records. Moreover, Rep. Cline won re-election last November by a 2 to 1 ratio while Rep. Griffith scored a 3 to 1 margin.
Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas was the only Democrat voting in support of the bill. A second Texas Democrat voted “present.” The 210 “no” votes all came from Democrats.
The bill defines the infants as “legal person[s] for all purposes under the laws of the United States” and mandates that any babies who survive a botched abortion must be given the same medical care that any child at that stage of development would be given at a medical facility.
Babies surviving an abortion are rare, but it has happened.
For example, Gianna Jessen was born on April 6, 1977 in California despite being a victim of a saline abortion at seven months gestation. Amazingly, her medical records from the day of her birth report “Born during saline abortion.” The abortion left Jessen with severe injuries and permanent physical disabilities, including cerebral palsy, due to a lack of oxygen during the abortion. She was never supposed to be able to walk or even to lift her head. Many even doubted that she would live.
However, Jessen defied the odds. After four surgeries and physical therapy, Jessen was able to overcome many of the effects of the abortion. Today she can walk without assistance, and she has taken an active role as a pro-life advocate. Jessen has testified in Congress on numerous occasion and regularly gives speeches promoting laws to protect abortion survivors. Jessen has traveled the world sharing her unbelievable story of hope and perseverance against all odds; her personal webpage is here.
Carol Tobias, president of America’s premier right-to-life organization, National Right to Life, told Fox News Digital: “The fact that only one lone Democrat voted in favor shows just how extreme the majority of House Democrats are. This bill is not about abortion, but pro-abortion groups and their allies have tried to make it about abortion. (…) There is no such thing as a ‘post-birth abortion.’ Allowing a child to die after birth is infanticide.”
Many Democrats and those in the media blasted the bill as unnecessary and misleading. Rep. Troy Carter (D-LA) tweeted: “The ill-named ‘Born Alive’ act is a blatant attack on reproductive right, an appalling campaign of purposeful misinformation, & an insult to doctors. (…) The bill is a waste of our time & uses issues that do not actually exist to mislead the public into anti-abortion rhetoric.”
In contrast to those who claim the bill is not necessary, supporters of the bill point to Virginia as proof that such a law is needed. Although former Governor Ralph Northam (D) gained more notoriety for his racist photo yearbook scandal, shortly before that story became public he made headlines in January 2019 when he was endorsing a bill from Virginia legislator Kathy Tran (D) that would permit an abortion while a woman was in labor (sic).
When asked by a radio talk show host about his position on Tran’s bill, Gov. Northam claimed: “This is why decisions such as this should be made by providers, physicians, and the mothers and fathers that are involved. When we talk about third-trimester abortions, these are done with the consent of the mother, with the consent of physicians, more than one physician by the way, and it’s done in cases where there may be severe deformities, there may be a fetus which is non-viable. So in this particular example, if the mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen, the infant would be delivered, the infant would be kept comfortable, the infant would be resuscitated if this is what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physician and the mother.”
The fact that Northam was a pediatrician by trade and he spoke in such calm tones while seemingly rationalizing infanticide struck many in Virginia and across the country as gruesome.
Now that the bill has passed the House of Representatives, it would require passage by the Senate and the signature of President Biden to become law. However, since the Senate now has a pro-abortion majority and President Biden in recent years has changed his stance and become a vocal supporter of abortion, chances for passage appear very slim in the near-term.
In contrast to Reps. Cline, Griffith, and Good, who have pro-life voting records, the Old Dominions two senators, Democrats Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, have solid pro-abortion voting records.
Reps. Cline, Griffith, Good, and Sen. Kaine, will face re-election in 2024.
–Scott Dreyer
