“Over the course of 2019, radical legislators, and we’ve heard it all the way from New York to Illinois to Virginia, had moved to strip protections for babies who survive abortions,” Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., said during the unusual meeting.
“I am shocked that [there] are even American politicians who want to deny babies lifesaving medical care,” Wagner said. “As a mother, as a grandmother, a legislator, and an advocate, I am grieved to find that we must defend something that I never thought Americans would have to fight for: lifesaving care for babies that are born alive.”
Among those present was Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., the No. 2 House Republican. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., although not attending, supported the hearing and had a statement read into the record.
Using a procedural tactic known as a discharge petition, Scalise and Wagner have tried to force a floor vote on the legislation.
The strategy of a discharge petition, which isn’t usually successful, requires gathering at least 218 signatures from House members to oblige the chamber’s Democrat leadership to bring the bill to the floor for debate and a vote.
The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act would require medical professionals to give the same medical care to a baby who survives an abortion as any other baby of the same age would receive, as well as to take the baby to a hospital.
SIGN THE PETITION: Stop Infanticide! Stop Abortions Up to Birth!
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