WASHINGTON, D.C. – One of the first priorities House republicans are taking up involve two anti-abortion measures.
One would require that infants born alive after an attempted abortion get the same care as any newborn and it also threatens medical providers with up to five years behind bars for failing to resuscitate infants born alive during abortions. According to the New York Times, live births during an abortion are exceedingly rare and there’s already laws on the books that requires that a baby who survives an attempted abortion receive emergency medical care. But this new bill, which passed largely on party lines, lays out the penalties for violators and clarifies the standards of care. The second legislation condemns violence against pro-life facilities, groups and churches.
“This resolution is straight forward what has happened now at hundreds at crisis pregnancy centers and churches this past year is just flat out wrong,” said Rep. Jim Jordan (R- OH). “On May 8, 2022 Mother’s day, activists targeted a pro-life center in Madison, Wisconsin setting it ablaze and vandalizing it with the words ‘if abortions aren’t safe then you aren’t either.’”
Republicans list a handful of other examples. Many of these incidents followed the leaked Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion. It happened at one church outside of D.C. last summer where we saw crews cleaning up graffiti left behind and cleaning up foul language on their walls.
“Democracy doesn’t allows violence in any which forms,” said Rep. Jerry Nadler (D- NY). “This resolution however is a partisan ploy that is woefully and unacceptably an inadequate condemnation of violence.”
Democrats said the resolution doesn’t condemn violence against abortion providers.
“I’m concerned that by refusing to condemn violence against providers this resolution will send a signal to anti-abortion extremists that violence against abortion providers is justified by the vandalism described in the resolution,” said Rep. Nadler.
Rep. Jack Bergman (R- MI) who represents Michigan’s first congressional district voted for both of those measures.
