The “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act” passed the West Virginia Senate with a unanimous 32-0 vote on Monday (although two senators were not present). It will soon be sent to West Virginia Governor Jim Justice, who is expected to sign it into law.
The bill was originally introduced in the House of Delegates, where it was passed with an overwhelming and bipartisan vote of 93-5. The House will have to concur with Senate amendments before the bill can be sent to the governor.
This bill will require abortionists to provide babies born alive in spite of an attempted abortion "the same degree" of care that would be provided “to any other child born alive at the same gestational age,” including transportation to a hospital; and mandatory reporting of violations.
Furthermore, abortionists would be investigated and prosecuted for violating this rule and killing a born child, which was previously not possible. Abortion providers which do not report violations would face penalties.
In the Democratic primary debate Friday night, presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders gave an abortion-fueled response to a question asking candidates what their "litmus test" would be for Supreme Court appointees.
"… I will never nominate any person to the Supreme Court or the federal courts in general who is not 100 percent pro-Roe v. Wade," Sanders said.
"Number two: We have got to codify Roe v. Wade into legislation.
Number three: We have to significantly expand funding for Planned Parenthood."
The admission that the legal grounds for abortion are shaky is good to hear from abortion advocates. The Roe. v. Wade decision seems more and more likely to be overturned by Trump-appointed judges as time progresses, however, so legislation is the next logical step for abortion advocates.
All of these statements should be warning signs for pro-lifers. The fact that a presidential candidate's first requirement for federal judges is that they condone the killing of unborn children should be shocking. Furthermore, Senator Sanders wants to "significantly" increase the amount of taxpayer funding that goes towards a private entity whose primary goal is to commit abortions. These stances do not put the needs of vulnerable Americans first.
While Bernie is often seen as the most radical of the Democratic candidates, this stance towards abortion has seemingly become the party norm. Pro-life Democrats don't appear to have anyone to turn towards in the presidential field of candidates.
A referendum that would have allowed Kansas citizens to vote on an amendment declaring abortion is not a constitutional right in the state of Kansas barely failed to reach the required number of votes in the House of Representatives.
A two-thirds majority is required to pass a referendum for a constitutional amendment, but the House fell four votes short in an 80-43 vote on Friday.
The amendment was introduced in response to a Kansas Supreme Court ruling that declared abortion a "medical procedure" and therefore a right under the Kansas constitution. This decision limits the degree to which Kansas legislators can regulate abortion, so pro-life legislators wanted to amend the constitution and preserve state regulations.
Republican Rep. Susan Humphries supported the referendum and argued for it on the House floor, saying, “Isn’t the thought of unregulated abortion repugnant to everyone in this chamber?”
Unless the Kansas Supreme Court ruling is overturned or another referendum passes in the future, abortion will be difficult to regulate in Kansas even if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
The Virginia Senate unanimously passed SB 290 last Tuesday. If it is passed into law, surrogacy contracts that say a surrogate mother must abort if they are pregnant with multiples or a child is diagnosed with a disability will be "void and unenforceable."
Senator Mark Peak, the sponsor of SB 290, said that the bill was both pro-choice and pro-woman. “This is not an antiabortion bill,” he said on the Senate floor. “The choice remains with the pregnant mother.” SB 290 would still allow a surrogate mother to abort if she so chooses.
Presidential Candidate Pete Buttigieg repeated his support for late-term abortion when questioned by the lone conservative host Meghan McCain on the issue.
McCain wanted Buttigieg to elaborate on a comment he made earlier in his campaign that. “there’s a lot of parts of the Bible that talk about how life begins with breath,” a twisted interpretation of a Genesis passage describing how God "breathed into [Adam's] nostrils the breath of life."
“Well, I’m just pointing to the fact that different people will interpret their own moral lights, and for that matter, interpret Scripture differently,” Buttigieg told McCain. “But we live in a country where it is extremely important that no one person [has] to be subjected to some other person’s interpretation of their own religion.”
“...people, even Democrats – and there are a lot of pro-life Democrats in the country – want to know exactly where your line is, because you’ll be the president if you win,” McCain pressed further.
“Right, but my point is that it shouldn’t be up to a government official to draw the line,” Buttigieg responded. “It should be up to the woman who is confronted with the choice.”
“So if a woman wanted to — I don’t know — invoke infanticide after a baby was born, you’d be comfortable with that?” McCain followed up. Buttigieg responded by asking, “does anybody seriously think that’s what these cases are about?”
Buttigieg claimed that “late-term situation” is “by definition” one in which “the woman was expecting to carry the pregnancy to term. Then she gets the most, perhaps, devastating news of her life.”
“I don’t know what to tell them, morally, about what they should do,” he said. “I just know that I trust her and her decision, medically or morally, isn’t going to be any better because the government is commanding her to do it in a certain way.”
Situations in which a family chooses to give up on their child a late stage like this are often due to medical diagnoses of conditions that parents simply don't want to deal with. When parents choose to abort their child due to a medical diagnosis, it is simply a legally sanctioned form of bigotry. People live full lives in spite of genetic conditions such as down syndrome. Children can fight through medical issues to come home with their parents after being born.
These situations might be more difficult both for children and parents, but to write off a life as worthless because of a medical diagnosis is detestable.
The Department of Justice sided with an Ohio law protecting unborn children with disabilities by submitting a filing before the 6th U.S. District Court in Cincinnati on Tuesday.
“Nothing in Ohio’s law creates a substantial obstacle to women obtaining an abortion,” the Department of Justice press release reads, “and nothing in the Constitution or Supreme Court precedent requires States to authorize medical providers to participate in abortions the providers know are based on Down syndrome.”
“Ohio’s Antidiscrimination Law affirms that people with Down syndrome have lives worth living and protecting. The law also protects the medical profession from harm to its integrity and protects women from abortion providers who may seek to pressure them into obtaining an abortion because of Down syndrome,” Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband said. “The federal government has an interest in the equal dignity of those who live with disabilities. Nothing in the Constitution requires Ohio to authorize abortion providers to participate in abortions the providers know are based on Down syndrome.”
The DOJ press release goes on to say “The law also wards against the slippery slope to medical involvement in race- or sex-based abortions,” and "protects women" from “potentially coercive abortion providers who may seek to pressure them into obtaining an abortion because of Down syndrome.”
A Students for Life chapter at California State University finally found its victory against the state institution for its discriminatory denial of student group funds.
In 2017, the University of California rejected Students for Life's funding request to pay for a pro-life speaker. All of the students at the university, including the Students for Life, paid an activity fee that provides funding for these occasions. The University of California rejected this request, while it provided other student organizations which aligned more with faculty beliefs large sums of money. In particular, the Gender Equity Center and the LGBQTA Pride Center received a combined total of $296,498, while no other student organization was granted $6,000.
Alliance defending Freedom (ADF) came to the students' aid and filed a lawsuit on their behalf to fight against the University of California's discriminatory policies in favor of free speech. After federal courts found the University guilty of discrimination, the University will pay over $240,000 in fees.
ADF Legal Counsel Caleb Dalton gave this statement: “Public universities should encourage all students to participate in the free exchange of ideas, not create elaborate and secretive funding schemes to fund their favorite groups while excluding opposing views from equal access.”
The Second Court of Appeals in Fort Worth, Texas heard arguments on Feb 4 regarding Tinslee Lewis and the Texas 10-Day Rule.
The Texas rule allows medical facilities to have a medical board to make the decision about whether a person's life is worth trying to save. Even without the agreement of the patient or their loved ones, doctors can choose to withhold treatment after 10 days once they gain permission from this independent board.
Cook Children's Medical Center wanted to pull the plug on Tinslee Lewis's breathing assistance months ago, using the 10-Day Rule as justification. Tinslee's parents appealed this decision, but a judge ruled against them in January. Since then, her legal battle gained widespread media attention and the support of Texas's executive branch. Cook Children's Medical Center received a temporary injunction against its use of the 10-Day Rule on Tinslee, and the Texas Office of Attorney General has come to her aid as well.
Trinity Lewis, Tinslee's mother, gave a statement during the Feb. 4 hearing about her daughter's condition and parents' need to be involved in their children's healthcare:
"Tinslee has not had 'dying spells' or blue spells requiring resuscitation for many months. The last time she had anything like that was right around her last surgery in August. She has not had any 'dying spells' or blue spells since then. A lot of the nurses that care for her tell me that they enjoy caring for her. They pray for Tinslee before their shift is over, they decorate her room, and help me take good care of her. Tinslee enjoys her bubble gum oral care, and she lets us know when she needs a diaper change–but she is not having dying spells, and I do not believe that she is suffering.
Tinslee is a fighter, and as long as she keeps responding to us and showing she is fighting, as her mom I will keep fighting for her.
I hope and pray these new judges will give Tinslee a fair chance. Every parent should have a voice and decision in their child’s care."
The hospital attempted to argue that if Tinslee's breathing assistance was taken away, the hospital would not be at fault for her death. It would instead be the fault of Tinslee's illness. The Office of Attorney General gave the counterargument that treating Tinslee's death in this way would be the same as saying a plane crash was the fault of gravity rather than the pilot or the plane's construction.
Since the temporary injunction against Cook Children's Medical Center, Tinslee has lived past her first birthday.
During his State of the Union address on Feb. 4, Donald Trump again emphasized the need to end late-term abortion. He spoke about to proposals he has set before Congress which would help reduce the horrible life-ending practice.
Immediately after bestowing the Medal of Honor to radio personality Rush Limbaugh, who was recently diagnosed with stage four lung cancer, President Trump transitioned to the issue of abortion:
“As we pray for all who are sick, we know that America is constantly achieving new medical breakthroughs. In 2017, doctors at St. Luke’s hospital in Kansas City delivered one of the earliest premature babies ever to survive. Born at just 21 weeks and six days and weighing less than a pound, Ellie Schneider was a born fighter. Through the skill of her doctors and the prayers of her parents, little Ellie kept on winning the battle of life. Today Ellie is a strong, healthy two-year-old girl, sitting with her amazing mother Robin in the gallery. Ellie and Robin, we are glad to have you with us tonight.”
“Ellie reminds us that every child is a miracle of life, and thanks to modern medical wonders, 50 percent of very premature babies delivered at the hospital where Ellie was born now survive,” the president continued. “Our goal should be to ensure that every baby has the best chance to thrive and grow just like Ellie. That is why I’m asking Congress to provide an additional $50 million to fund neonatal research for America’s youngest patients.”
“That is why I’m also calling upon members of Congress here tonight to pass legislation finally banning the late-term abortion of babies. Whether we are Republican, Democrat or independent, surely we must all agree that every human life is a sacred gift from God.”
This follows President Trump becoming the first sitting president to speak in person at March for Life on January 24. His ability to speak about these issues without fear of political backlash sets him apart from many supposedly pro-life politicians of the past.
The recently elected governor of Kentucky is making room for a new abortion provider in the state. Specifically, one that was unable to obtain a license from the previous administration because it failed to comply with regulatory laws.
Democratic Governor Andy Beshear approved a provisional license for Louisville Planned Parenthood on January 24th. It will go into effect in March, making them the second abortion provider in the state. Previous Governor Matt Bevin’s administration refused a license to Planned Parenthood twice during its time in power. The first of these times was because Planned Parenthood failed to create a hospital transport agreement with an ambulance service, and the second time because the organization was committing abortions with a license of any sort.
The Kentucky government's lax position on abortion under the new administration will not only cause a rise in abortion there, but it may also harm pregnant women by exposing them to lower-quality care.
New Hampshire's Senate and House of Representatives are both considering legislation that would cement the human rights of infants born during abortions.
The New Hampshire State Senate Health and Human Services Committee heard testimony on Tuesday regarding SB 741-FN, its version of born-alive infant protection. If passed, it would require medical personnel to provide the same level of treatment to infants born during an abortion as they would to any other person. A doctor who refuses to do so would be guilty of a felony.
The Center for Disease Control's reports show that 143 babies died after being born alive during abortion procedures between the years 2003 and 2014, but those statistics come with an asterisk. They only include states which record and report abortion-related statistics to the federal government. About half of the country, including some of the most pro-choice states, doesn't do this, making these numbers incredibly inaccurate. New Hampshire is one of those states.
A new report suggests that businesses should pay for their employees' abortions because doing so would benefit businesses. While this might be true, it would only harm women.
The report, titled “Hidden Value: The Business Case for Reproductive Health,” argues that businesses will benefit from paying for their employees' abortions for several reasons: They argue that businesses will be able to attract and retain workers who would otherwise not be able to afford "reproductive health care," women who become pregnant could easily abort their children and continue to provide value towards businesses' bottom lines, workforces would be more diverse, and businesses would appease shareholders who care about their position on social issues.
Employers have discriminated against women in the past because they can become pregnant. They choose to hire men instead of women simply because they will not need maternity leave. This study feeds employers' stigma against working women by trying to make abortion a standard benefit (and the standard response to working women becoming pregnant). It furthers the idea that unless women abort, business owners have no good reason to hire or promote women.
If businesses take this advice, women will feel even more pressure from their employers to make life-ending decisions regarding their children.
A Kansas Supreme Court ruling in April declared that the Kansas constitution creates a right to abortion which cannot be infringed upon through legislation. The Kansas state senate is now trying to combat this by passing an amendment which, if accepted by the Kansas House of Representatives and Kansas citizens, would remove any such right from their constitution.
The Senate passed the "Value them Both" amendment with a 28-12 vote last Wednesday, but any vote to bring it through the House of Representatives is likely to be close. The Republican Representatives could pass the amendment in a party-line vote, but it is unknown what moderates on either side might choose to do.
If the amendment passes the House of Representatives, Kansans will be able to vote on it at the ballot.
On January 30, the video-sharing app TikTok temporarily banned LiveAction News from its platform for "violating multiple community guidelines." TikTok responded on January 31 that the ban was a result of "human error" and reinstated Live Action News's account, but this action is not outside of the norm for social media corporations with how they have treated pro-life media in the past.
“Live Action’s videos shared baby photos and videos and highlighted the illogic of the pro-abortion movement,” Live Action President Lila Rose said in a statement. “At the same time, TikTok allows pro-abortion accounts and videos to remain on the platform, videos like this that simulate brutal harm to preborn or born infants. Live Action appealed TikTok’s decision to remove one of our videos and within a half hour our account was completely removed on the platform. No more account, no more videos. This is blatant viewpoint discrimination and an egregious attempt to silence pro-life voices. TikTok should reinstate our account in full and allow all voices on the platform.”
This is the video that TikTok says violated their “Community Guidelines” and banned us for.
In it, we share the beautiful personal stories that some of our followers have shared with us about choosing life for their babies. pic.twitter.com/EBADFmxUEW
Live Action News's reinstatement allows the organization to continue reaching out to young adults who are often the most vulnerable to having abortions.
Last Tuesday, North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer introduced a bill that would allow judges to require the father of an unborn child to pay child support to the mother.
The Unborn Child Support Act, co-sponsored by Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), would allow a mother to use the legal system and require her child's father to pay child support throughout pregnancy. This support can even be retroactive up to the month of conception. The mother can require a paternity test to be done if it does not put the child's life at risk.
This bill would both put forth a standard that life begins at conception, and protect vulnerable women from being pushed toward abortion due to financial concerns if a father is otherwise unwilling to help support his child and the mother.
“Life begins at conception. Our laws should reflect that truth, especially when it comes to helping mothers provide for the welfare of their children,” said Senator Cramer in a press release. “If we are going to be pro-life, we should be pro-all-of-life and ensure we give moms the support they need.”
A Virginia bill designed to repeal several abortion regulations in the state was recently passed the Senate as a result of a tie-breaking vote by Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax.
Senate Bill 733 repeals the rule that only doctors perform abortions. Under the new law, nurses and medical assistants will also be allowed to commit abortions. Additionally, abortionists will no longer be required to give women certain information about abortions or tell them about abortion alternatives. Finally, facilities which “perform five or more first-trimester abortions per month,” will no longer be considered "hospitals" under Virginia law. This allows abortion facilities to operate under lower safety and cleanliness standards.
The bill had already passed the House of Representatives. Once Gov. Ralph Northam signs it, it will become law.
In his second State of the State address, pro-life Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he hoped the Senate would pass a parental consent bill like one that passed the Florida House of Representatives last year, so he could sign it into law. It seems likely that he will soon get what he asked for.
Senate Republicans on the Florida Rules Committee approved SB 404, which would require teenagers under the age of 18 to obtain permission from their parents or legal guardian before having an abortion. It is not identical to the bill passed by the House of Representatives last year, but Senate President Bill Galvano told reporters that he believes the House will approve the new Senate bill.
The 23-17 GOP majority is expected to pass SB 404 as early as next week.
On Wednesday, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati heard oral arguments regarding the legality of Kentucky House Bill 454, which would limit dismemberment abortion in the state. The ACLU and State Deputy Solicitor General Matthew Kuhn gave arguments in front of the three-judge panel.
“We, Kentucky, can change how abortion procedures are performed to make them more humane,” Kuhn said. He argued that the law does not necessarily ban dismemberment, but it would require fetal demise before an abortionist could tear the limbs from a fetus's body. During a dismemberment abortion, this is done to a living fetus because the child is otherwise too large to remove from the mother's womb without inducing labor.
He also pointed out that Ohio currently exercises a similar law, saying, “If doctors in Ohio are already doing it, why can’t doctors in Kentucky do it?”
It could be months before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals makes a decision on this law, but Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said he is prepared to appeal to the Supreme Court if necessary
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced a bill last week which would take several steps to protect the lives of unborn children in the state.
Governor Lee's bill would ban abortions after a child's heartbeat is detected, require mothers to have ultrasounds before they have an abortion, and ban abortions “motivated by sex, race or disability diagnosis of the unborn child.”
“The General Assembly has been committed to making Tennessee a very strong pro-life state over the last decade,” Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton said to Fox 17. “Obviously, we are very supportive and appreciative of the Governor’s dedication to pro-life principles. We are looking forward to working with him and his team on this issue, as well as his legislative vision. I know members of the House and the chairmen are eager to review the proposed language and continue their strong support for life.”
On January 22, the Trump administration announced that it would reinstate federal funding for Healthy Texas Women, a women's health organization that previously lost federal funding under the Obama administration.
The Obama administration revoked Healthy Texas Women's funding because it differentiated itself from Planned Parenthood and refused to subsidize abortion. It now has $350 million in federal funds to use for the next five years.
Healthy Texas Women provides cancer screenings, well-woman exams, family planning, to low-income women throughout Texas. With the reinstated funding, it is poised to help more women than it ever has before.
