Born Alive Act vote

Richard A. Sokerka

There is still hope that Congress can once again take up the Born Alive Act.

The optimism comes from two newly elected members of Congress who signed a petition May 26 to bring a key pro-life bill to the House floor for consideration.

That same day, Reps. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.) and Tom Tiffany (R-Wisc.) were both sworn in to the House, and signed the discharge petition for the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act afterward according to the office of Minority WHIP Steve Scalise (R-La.).

The petition needs 218 member signatures to force consideration of the bill. While most bills do not advance out of committees to the House floor, a successful discharge petition would force consideration of the measure by the entire body.

Rep. Ann Wagner’s (R-Mo.) Born-Alive Act requires that, in cases of babies surviving abortion attempts, the attending doctor or health care worker gives them the same standard of care as they would to any other newborn born prematurely at the same gestational age.

Wagner’s legislation has 192 cosponsors, with a Senate version having been introduced by Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.). In introducing the legislation in the Senate, Sen. Sasse said the legislation is necessary to guarantee the best care for infants. “This is about making sure that every baby receives the same degree of care, whether they’re born in a hospital or an abortion clinic,” he said.

While Congress passed the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act in 2002 defining abortion survivors as people, Wagner’s bill assures that a baby born during a late-term abortion can survive that attempt on its life. It mandates that babies born alive during an abortion receive the same immediate care as a baby born naturally.

It criminalizes refusal of such care, requires health care workers to report any refusal of care to authorities, and gives the mother a civil cause of action if care is denied, as well as protection from prosecution.

Currently, the discharge petition for the Born-Alive act has 205 signatures, including these Republicans who are the newest members of the House of Representatives, but is still short 13 signatures. It expires in January 2021, so time is of the essence if this legislation is to move forward.

It is important that Catholics write to their Representatives in the House, especially from here in New Jersey where Democrats hold a large majority of the seats, and urge them to join in supporting this legislation that will save a baby’s life and not destroy it.