Abortion survivor protections fail in the Senate

WASHINGTON—The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, a measure that would ensure babies who survived abortions received medical care, failed in the Senate Monday afternoon. The act needed 60 votes to advance but only received 53. The bill, introduced by Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., would have required any healthcare practitioner present to seek to “preserve the life and health of the child,” including transporting the baby immediately to a hospital if it survived an abortion. It also would have introduced criminal penalties for abortionists who fail to provide care to newborns who survived abortion. Earlier this month, Sasse called on the Senate to pass the bill by unanimous consent, but Senate Democrats blocked it.

“I want to ask each and every one of my colleagues whether or not we’re OK with infanticide,” Sasse told his Senate colleagues Monday prior to the vote. Afterward, in an interview with Fox News, he said the bill’s opponents lied about the legislation, claiming it would “end abortion.” Sasse called it a “a sad day” in the U.S. Senate, adding, “This shouldn’t be about politics. … This should be about having heart.”

The vote largely fell along party lines, with some defections: Democratic Sens. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Doug Jones of Alabama, and Joe Manchin of West Virginia voted yes, while Republicans Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Tim Scott of South Carolina, and Kevin Cramer of North Dakota did not vote. Scott and Cramer reportedly missed the vote because of flight delays.