Hillsdale Daily News: Fighting for The Sanctity of Life
By Rep. Tim Walberg
Over the last few weeks, Republicans in the House have asked more than 10 times for unanimous consent to bring the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act up for a vote. Each time, Democrats have blocked consideration of the bill.
It is heartbreaking this issue even needs to be debated. It should be entirely non-controversial. As the name suggests, the bill requires the same care and protections under the law for babies who are born after an attempted abortion as any other newborn.
This is life outside of the womb. These are infants breathing the same air that we breathe. It is difficult to describe this barbaric behavior--denying medical care to a baby who survives an abortion--as anything other than infanticide. Yet, Speaker Nancy Pelosi refuses to allow even an up or down vote.
The Senate brought up the legislation last week, but Democrats blocked it there too, falling seven votes short of meeting the 60 vote threshold needed for the bill to advance.
As we watch what is unfolding in states like New York, Virginia, and others across the country, it underscores the need for strong protections at the federal level for all stages of life.
New York celebrated its radical new law repealing pre-existing protections for abortion survivors by illuminating the One World Trade Center with pink lighting.
Virginia's governor not only defended his state's late-term abortion legislation but explained the consequences of its outcome in stunningly callous terms: "The infant would be kept comfortable" while "a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother."
The American people, overwhelmingly, do not support extreme measures that dehumanize life, and, thankfully, public opinion is moving in favor of defending the voiceless.
A recent poll found three out of four Americans support strong protections for infants who survive a failed abortion procedure. Another new survey found that Americans are now self-identifying as pro-life (47-percent) just as often as pro-choice (47-percent). This result represents a 17-point swing--described as a "dramatic shift"--towards the pro-life cause from just last month, as Americans have seen repeated radical legislative efforts that cross the moral line.
Our country was established on the principle that all men are created equal, and are endowed by their creator with unalienable rights, among them life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is no coincidence life is listed as the first unalienable right. Without life, we cannot have liberty or the pursuit of happiness.
No matter where one stands on the abortion debate, we should all be able to agree that no life is disposable and infanticide is inhumane. Every life is a precious gift, even the most vulnerable. And every life deserves a chance to realize their God-given potential, even the most powerless.
It shocks the conscience that we even need to call for a vote on the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. Preventing infanticide is the most basic thing we can do to defend the sanctity of life. And I will keep fighting until we do.
-- U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg represents Michigan's 7th District and is a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Education and Labor Committee. This op-ed originally appeared in the March 10 edition of the Hillsdale Daily News.
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