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CV NEWS FEED // The White House expressed firm backing for H.R. 21, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which aims to enhance protections for vulnerable newborns who survive abortion attempts.
“The Administration strongly supports H.R. 21 the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, and applauds the House for its efforts to protect the most vulnerable and prevent infanticide,” the Jan. 23 statement from the Executive Office of the President (EOP) said.
If the bill were to reach the President in its current form, his advisors would recommend signing it into law, according to the EOP.
H.R. 21 would mandate 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.
“As President Trump established through Executive Order 13952 of September 25, 2020,” the EOP statement continued, “it is the policy of the United States to recognize the human dignity and inherent worth of every newborn or other infant child, regardless of prematurity or disability, and to ensure for each child due protection under the law.”
Introduced by Sens. John Kennedy (R-La.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), and Jim Banks (R-Ind.), the bill would also require the immediate transportation of the surviving child to a hospital for care. Additionally, the bill includes provisions for healthcare workers to report any violations of these requirements and establishes a civil right of action for the mothers, shielding them from criminal prosecution.
The EOP’s statement affirmed that a baby who survives an abortion should receive the same level of care and consideration as any other newborn.
“H.R. 21 would properly amend current law to ensure that the life of one baby is not treated as being more or less valuable than another,” the EOP said.
CatholicVote reported Jan. 22 that the initiative was rejected by Senate Democrats in a 52-47 vote, with opponents labeling the bill as “pernicious.”
“Democrats are afraid that by recognizing the humanity of the newly-born child they will inadvertently point to the humanity of the unborn child,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said.
Bishop David Thomas, chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Pro-Life Committee, called the Senate’s blocking of the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Act “a stunning failure,” CatholicVote reported.
“The House of Representatives took decisive action to protect innocent babies from infanticide,” Bishop Thomas said. “Babies are being left to die after failed abortions — denied care and basic human compassion. It is a stunning failure of the Senate to reject this necessary, common-sense legislation — which, in reality, does not even limit abortion but protects infants who are born alive.”
