In October and November 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate unanimously passed legislation making animal cruelty a federal crime. Yet incredulously, this past Tuesday, the Senate failed to pass two pieces of legislation that would have further protected the precious lives of human babies, born and unborn. The votes in both measures were almost entirely along party lines, with nearly all Republicans voting in favor and almost all Democrats voting against each of these bills.
The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act would require health care professionals to provide medical care for babies who are born alive following attempted abortions. In other words, doctors would need to provide the same level of care for abortion survivors that they offer to other newborns. Babies, made in the image of God, who survive an attempt to end their lives should not then be left to die alone on porcelain tables. It’s sickening to think that almost all of the Senate Democrats voted against this bill with only three Democrats—Casey (Penn.), Jones (Ala.) and Manchin (W. Va.) having the moral courage to protect a newborn baby after such a barbaric act is botched. It is equally as unconscionable that three senators—Warren, Sanders and Klobuchar—would choose to remain silent when a baby’s life is at stake.
The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act would have prohibited the majority of abortions past 20 weeks of pregnancy, in acknowledgment of scientific evidence that unborn babies are capable of feeling pain by this stage. As morally appalling, almost all of the Democrat senators voted against this bill, with only two Democrats willing to stand for these most vulnerable babies—Casey (Penn.) and Manchin (W. Va.). Sadly, in this measure, two Republican senators—Collins (Maine) and Murkowski (Alaska) also joined in voting against this life-saving legislation. The same senators—Warren, Sanders and Klobuchar—failed to vote in this measure as well.
I have said it before, and I will say it again until I have no breath to speak. Every human life is precious, and no child’s life is expendable. This is not about “abortion access” or the “right to choose.” This is not about “bundles of cells” or “clumps of tissue.” This is not about “my body, my choice” or any other despicable euphemism or excuse employed to minimize the horror of killing an unborn child in the womb or letting a child die outside the womb. At its core, this is all about the inherent God-given dignity and worth of every human being—from conception to natural death.
The senators who supported these bills have my deepest gratitude, and I implore them not to give up. To those senators who had the audacity to turn their backs on helpless babies, I say this: You have chosen to embrace a culture of death and a political platform over humanity, decency and life itself. God help us all if these two votes represent the soul of America.
Every American should respond to this heinous atrocity. If your senator(s) supported this legislation, contact them and thank them. If your senator(s) opposed this legislation, demand that they consider their own humanity and the value of every life.
To learn how your senators voted, click the links below:
—Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act
—Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act
To contact your senators, click here. {eoa}
Dr. James Dobson is president of the James Dobson Family Institute. He is a celebrated psychologist, Christian leader and author. His Family Talk radio program is broadcast weekdays on over 1,300 radio outlets and heard by over a half-million people each week.
