OP-ED: Fighting for Life

Press Release

By, U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers

Protecting life shouldn't be a political issue. Regardless of your stance on abortion in this country, refusing to help babies who survive the brutal process of abortion is criminal and subhuman. Yet, my colleagues across the aisle in the U.S. House of Representatives have blocked federal legislation more than 20 times that would require medical professionals to preserve the life and health of an abortion survivor. In response, House Republicans are taking action on April 2nd to force a vote on this life-saving legislation, called the Born Alive Survivors Protection Act.

It's alarming to think the practice of abortion has paved a path of acceptance for infanticide in some parts of the United States. Allowing an infant to die, or intentionally killing an abortion survivor, is a disgrace to mankind. However, we are seeing proposals permitting infanticide pop up in state governments, notably in Virginia and New York, where state leaders have rightly ignited a firestorm of criticism. I believe these calls are more than dangerous. They are callous, reckless, and they purport to strip living, breathing Americans of their most precious constitutional right -- their right to life.

25 years ago, during the annual National Prayer Breakfast, Mother Teresa challenged us to defend life, warning that "the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child." She urged us to be a "burning light of justice and peace" and to "be true to what the founders of this country stood for."

Over the years, I have supported pro-life legislation to protect both unwanted babies and the health of their mothers. Most recently, I have rallied for passage of the Born Alive Survivors Protection Act, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act and the Sanctity of Human Life Act. In my role overseeing the federal budget, I also fight year after year to continue the well-known Hyde Amendment, which ensures taxpayer dollars cannot be used to take innocent life, and to ensure that organizations, both domestic and abroad, do not receive any federal funds to assist with or promote abortions. Indeed, the right to life is guaranteed by the Constitution and vested in each human being.

We have a lot of challenges in this country but protecting the life of our children should be something we can all agree on. May our moral compass be set on giving hope in this country rather than taking life.

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