WASHINGTON — Democrats in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday blocked a bill that would establish penalties for health care workers who fail to provide medical care to infants born from attempted abortions, arguing that the bill would prevent parents from making decisions about the care of newborns born prematurely after a fatal fetal diagnosis.
Republicans said the issue should lead to common ground between the two political parties, citing a “loophole” in federal law that could potentially allow health care providers to allow an infant to die instead of using medical intervention.
The 52-47 procedural votes it needed the support of at least 60 senators to advance under the chamber’s legislative filibuster rules, but no Democrats voted to advance the bill to final passage. Tennessee Republican Senator Bill Hagerty did not cast a vote.
This year was the first time that Republicans, who currently control both the House and the Senate, put an abortion bill up for debate. The vote took place on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, which established a constitutional right to abortion in 1973 but was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2022.
Oklahoma Republican Senator James Lankford, who was the sponsor eight-page billsaid the debate over legislation is “not just an academic issue” but one with real-world implications.
“It’s rare, but the question is: what do we do in these situations? How can we track this? How do I go about it?” – he said.
Lankford said that when a baby is born alive as a result of an abortion, “the current practice is for everyone to back off and let the baby die on the table from exposure because it is against American law in every state to take a baby’s life.” . But if everyone just stands back and watches the baby die, there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Lankford recounted the story of Melissa Ohden, a woman who says she survived after an attempted abortion because a nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) noticed her crying and breathing with a pile of medical waste and took her to the emergency room for medical care . Ohden is the founder and CEO of the Abortion Survivors Network.
“She found out years later that her adopted mom adopted her because her biological mom literally didn’t know she still existed. “Her biological mother was never told that the abortion, quote, didn’t work,” he said.
“Killing a baby is illegal in every state.”
Democratic Washington state senator Patty Murray said during a Tuesday speech that the bill was a “sham” and a “disgrace,” before noting that “killing a child is illegal in every state.”
“In 2002, we passed a law that clearly defined this. I would know because I was here. It was passed unanimously,” Murray said. “Doctors already have a legal obligation to provide appropriate medical care to every child born in this country.”
She said the legislation would create “a new government mandate that would override the best judgment of bereaved families who learn that their fetus is terminally ill.”
“This would create new, medically unnecessary barriers for physicians and patients at a time when physicians’ hands are already tied when it comes to providing primary reproductive health care,” Murray said.
New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said during Wednesday’s news conference before the vote that she was not concerned that Republicans would utilize an anti-voting vote. vulnerable officials running for re-election in 2026.
“I have now run in seven statewide races in New Hampshire, and in each of those races, Republicans have attacked me for my support of allowing women to make their own decisions,” Shaheen said.
“This is not a decision that should be made as a senator, that should be made by a court, that should be made by the men in the Senate,” she added. “It’s a decision for women and their families. And those people who don’t understand this say they are on the wrong side of morality on this issue.
Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff and Michigan Sen. Gary Peters are the two most vulnerable Democrats running in the 2026 election, and both represent states that President Donald Trump won in November’s presidential election.
Details of the Senate’s legislation
Lankford’s bill would require health care providers to “preserve the life and health of the child in the same manner as a reasonably conscientious and conscientious health care provider would preserve any other child born alive of the same gestational age.”
The bill adds that anyone who “intentionally commits or attempts to commit an overt act that kills a child” will be charged with “intentionally killing or attempting to kill a human being.”
Killing children and adults is already illegal under both federal and state law.
The House is expected to vote on it your own version of the bill, sponsored by Missouri Republican Ann Wagner i co-sponsored by 130 GOP lawmakerslater this week. However, without the support of Democrats in the Senate, the bill will not reach Trump’s desk.
Wagner’s House bill appeared remarkably similar to the Senate version, although the congressional database on Wednesday did not mark the two bills as “related bills.”
House approved a version of the bill two years ago mainly following the party line 220-210 voteswith one Democrat voting yes and one voting “present.”
The bill failed to be voted on in the Senate, then controlled by Democrats.
Congress approved a similarly named Protection of Newborns Born Alive Act 2002over two decades ago, with broad bipartisan support.
Groups weigh each other
Dr. Stella M. Dantas, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, wrote in a statement sent to States Newsroom that “the offensively named legislation does not reflect the realities of abortion later in pregnancy, harms families who receive a devastating diagnosis, and limits their ability to choose the right one for themselves.” medical care paths.”
“This legislation is not evidence-based,” Dantas wrote. “Its impact falls crushingly on families trying to access reproductive care in devastating circumstances and limits the ability of physicians to provide care.”
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists writes on: website about the differences between abortion and perinatal palliative care, that “the idea of ’abortion’ after childbirth is” misinformation and that “such a procedure does not exist.”
Perinatal palliative care, explains ACOG, “encompasses a coordinated care strategy that focuses on maximizing the quality of life and comfort of newborns who have life-limiting conditions in early infancy.”
“The primary goal of obstetrician-gynecologists who provide perinatal palliative care is to alleviate the suffering of the newborn and to honor the value of the patients involved, namely the parent or parents of the newborn,” the website reads. “Ultimately, the parent or parents, in consultation with the doctor, decide which direction of perinatal palliative care to choose.”
Eighteen medical organizations – including ACOG, the Society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, the American Academy of Nursing and the American Academy of Pediatrics – sent letter on Wednesday to Congress, urging lawmakers not to pass the bill.
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser released a written statement saying the 2024 election showed Americans “clearly reject an extremely pro-abortion agenda.”
“We cannot continue to turn a blind eye to this child fighting for her life, whether in a hospital or in an abortion center, regardless of whether the child is deemed ‘desirable’ or not,” Dannenfelser wrote. “These children cannot be thrown away like garbage. With a new administration in Washington and new majorities in the Senate and House, there has never been a better or more urgent time to equally protect the life of every newborn.”
AND SBA website on the legislation notes that while the 2002 Act was a “step in the right direction”, it contained no “enforcement mechanisms”.
“Federal and 31 state laws do not adequately protect the lives of children born alive following botched abortions (state and federal laws are also not necessarily redundant),” the website reads.
Anna Bernstein, chief federal policy adviser at the Guttmacher Institute, wrote in a statement to States Newsroom that the bill “misrepresents the reality of care later in pregnancy and seeks to criminalize and intimidate health care providers, despite existing laws that already provide appropriate medical care.” provided that.”
“By perpetuating misinformation and stigma, this bill undermines reproductive autonomy and paves the way for political interference in deeply personal and painful decisions, especially for families facing tragic situations like a fatal fetal diagnosis,” Bernstein wrote.
The Guttmacher Institute, she wrote, “strongly opposes this bill because it disregards the complexity of people’s lives, attempts to criminalize providers, and perpetuates misinformation about abortion care.”
Last updated at 15:53, January 22, 2025
