If a total of 218 representatives sign the petition, then H.R. 619 will be brought before the full House of Representatives for a vote. This would bypass the normal requirement that the bill is approved by the committee to which it was assigned.
H.R. 619 is important because it would provide an enforcement mechanism to punish abortionists if they refuse to provide care for a baby that survived an attempted abortion. Furthermore, it would require that every child who survives an attempted abortion be transported to a hospital to receive the same care that any other baby would receive.
The CDC estimates that at least 143 babies died after being born alive during attempted abortions between the years 2003 and 2014. This number is likely lower than reality; since some of the most pro-abortion states do not provide abortion data to the federal government. If H.R. 619 becomes law, then many of these deaths could be mitigated.
“There is no such thing as a ‘post-birth abortion.’ This bill isn’t about interfering with a so-called right to abortion. It is about stopping infanticide,” said National Right to Life President Carol Tobias. “Appallingly, pro-abortion extremists in the House and Senate are willing to let die babies who are born alive following an abortion.”
