On Wednesday, nearly every Democrat in the House of Representatives voted against a bill that would require immediate medical attention for babies who are born alive after a failed abortion attempt.
The House still passed the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which says any baby born alive after an attempted abortion is a “legal person for all purposes under the laws of the United States.” Doctors would be required to provide medical care for those babies as a “reasonably diligent and conscientious health care practitioner would render to any other child born alive.”
The bill passed the House in a 220-210 vote with all “no” votes coming from Democrats. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) was the only Democrat to support the bill, and Democrat Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (TX) voted “present.”
“This reasonable legislation would protect a baby born alive following an abortion,” Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life, said of the bill. “This bill isn’t about interfering with a so-called right to abortion. It is about stopping infanticide. Congress must act now to pass this legislation and protect these vulnerable babies.”
Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO), who introduced the bill, celebrated its passage and touted how the legislation will “ensure that every single baby born in the United States receives lifesaving medical care at their most vulnerable moment.”