CV NEWS FEED // Senate Democrats blocked the advancement of the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act Jan. 22, halting efforts by Republicans to pass legislation mandating medical care for infants born alive during attempted abortions.
The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act would have mandated that health care providers administer the same level of care to infants born alive after an abortion as they would to any other child born at the same gestational age, CatholicVote reported. It was proposed Jan. 16 by Sens. John Kennedy (R-La.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), and Jim Banks (R-Ind.), and was co-sponsored by 39 other Republican senators.
The attempt to advance the anti-infanticide bill, which required a threshold of 60 votes to move forward, failed 52-47, The Hill reported. Although Republicans hold a majority in the Senate with 53 seats, they were unable to secure enough votes to overcome the Democratic opposition.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) had predicted a poor outcome regarding the vote.
“[Democratic senators] will vote against protection for a living, breathing newborn baby simply because that child has been born alive after an attempted abortion,” he said, according to The Hill.
A baby born alive after an attempted abortion should be entitled to the same protection and medical care that any other newborn baby is entitled to.
— Leader John Thune (@LeaderJohnThune) January 22, 2025
This shouldn’t be a controversial bill. pic.twitter.com/tq2wqpNpeC
“Democrats are afraid that by recognizing the humanity of the newly-born child they will inadvertently point to the humanity of the unborn child,” Thune said.
The bill also had provisions requiring health care workers to report any instances where proper care is not provided to born-alive infants to law enforcement.
“I do understand where they’re coming from,” Thune added. “After all, once you recognize the humanity of the newly-born baby, it gets a little harder to say that that child wasn’t human just a few moments ago, simply because he or she wasn’t yet born.”
The legislation would also have required abortion survivors to be transported to a hospital for further medical treatment.
Democrats criticized the bill as “unnecessary,” arguing that federal law already prohibits infanticide.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called the bill “pernicious.”
“The Republican so-called ‘born-alive’ bill is pernicious as they come,” he said.
He claimed that the bill was an attempt to “attack women’s health care” through “false narratives and outright fearmongering” and that it added unnecessary legal risk for doctors.
The timing of the Jan. 22 vote coincided with the 52nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark abortion ruling that was overturned in 2022. This week, pro-lifers are gathering for the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C.