GOP House passes two anti-abortion bills among first votes of new congress
Abigail Adcox
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The Republican-led House approved two anti-abortion bills on Wednesday, legislation intended to communicate the GOP majority’s opposition to abortion and disapproval of the Biden administration.
The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act sponsored by Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO) passed in a 220 to 210 vote. It would require healthcare practitioners to provide medical treatment and life-saving measures for infants born alive after a failed abortion. Health providers that do not comply could be subject to civil liability and criminally charged.
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Under the bill, if an abortion results in the live birth of an infant, the infant would be considered a legal person and entitled to protections under U.S. laws as any other newborn.
“Congresswoman Wagner’s legislation will give babies born alive during an abortion the necessary, lifesaving medical care that any other baby would receive to give them the best chance at life,” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA). “Republicans are committed to defending life and doing everything in our power to keep babies who survive an abortion alive.”
Democrats have contended that the 2002 Born-Alive Infants Protection Act already guarantees infants’ legal rights.
“Let’s be clear: Doctors are already required to provide appropriate medical care by law. This is not how medical care works. It’s wrong, irresponsible, and dangerous to suggest otherwise,” said Jacqueline Ayers, the senior vice president of policy, organizing, and campaigns at Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Several states have already implemented “born-alive” legislation. Last November, voters disapproved of a ballot initiative in Montana that would have required medical care for infants born alive after an attempted abortion, induced labor, or cesarean section. Montana already has a law on the books that makes it a felony to purposefully, knowingly, or negligently cause the death of a premature infant.
The House also approved H. Con. Res. 3, which condemns the attacks on anti-abortion facilities and churches in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision. The resolution passed by a 222 to 209 vote with three Democrats, Reps. Vicente Gonzalez (TX), Chrissy Houlahan (PA), and Marie Perez (WA), voting in favor of it.
Over 100 Republican members of Congress, led by Republican Conference Vice Chairman Mike Johnson (R-LA), introduced the bill.
“We are introducing this resolution to make the position of Congress crystal clear: violence, property damage, threats, and intimidation tactics must be condemned, and these clear violations of federal and state laws must be prosecuted,” Johnson said in a statement.
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A number of crisis pregnancy centers across the country were vandalized in the weeks following the Dobbs decision. Blue Ridge Pregnancy Center, a faith-based nonprofit crisis pregnancy group, was attacked by vandals hours after the court’s ruling, breaking windows and spraying graffiti on the outside of the building, prompting Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin to condemn the incident.
Roughly 56 pregnancy centers have been vandalized since the beginning of early May, the Catholic News Agency estimates. The FBI has been involved in investigating several of the attacks, offering rewards for information leading to an arrest, though most investigations have been carried out by local authorities.
The Department of Justice, meanwhile, has been largely focused on attacks against abortion clinics, forming a task force earlier this year to coordinate a national investigation and prosecution of incidents against “reproductive health providers, patients, and facilities.”