Allow a vote on the ‘Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act’

There is no greater responsibility for members of Congress than to safeguard the right to life for all Americans, particularly the most vulnerable. That’s why House Republican leaders are pushing for a vote on the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. This bill would make the difference between life and death for countless children — if Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and pro-abortion House Democrats will stop blocking it. 

I (Rep. Cammack) am honored to lead this fight alongside House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.). As the daughter of a single mom who bravely chose life despite enormous pressure to abort me, this cause is personal and near to my heart.

Picture two babies born in the same hospital. In the NICU, doctors and nurses spare no effort to save the lives of very sick and premature babies.  

Down the hall, a very different scene unfolds. The reason? This child was scheduled for abortion. But the tools and techniques meant to kill the baby don’t work, and he or she is born alive — breathing, moving, crying.

Instead of being immediately transported and treated with the same compassionate care, the baby is taken to a soiled utility room and left there to die alone.

It sounds surreal — but this is exactly the experience of Jill Stanek, a former nurse and whistleblower who witnessed aborted babies being born alive and abandoned, including a little boy with Down syndrome who she comforted for 45 minutes of his brief life.

It’s the experience of women like Sycloria Williams, who delivered a live baby girl in a Florida abortion facility and then watched in horror as the owner disposed of the baby in a biohazard bag.

It’s also the experience of survivors like Melissa Ohden, who miraculously survived five days of being burned by saline in the womb. Ohden is part of a growing network of adult survivors of abortion speaking out and showing the human cost to this issue.

How can such stark injustice be tolerated in America? Whether due to lack of information or deliberate pro-abortion disinformation, many Americans aren’t aware that Roe v. Wade allows abortion on demand up to birth. When they learn that the U.S. is one of only seven nations that allow late-term abortions after five months of pregnancy, along with China and North Korea, they are appalled.

In 2002, President George W. Bush signed a law clarifying that a baby who survives an abortion is legally considered a person, with legal rights. This was a good first step, but it didn’t create any specific requirements, or hold personnel accountable if they deny babies life-saving care.

Tragically, not much has changed. Today fewer than half of states lack sufficient protections — and in states like New York and Virginia, Democratic politicians are pushing to expand late-term abortion and stripping away the few existing protections for survivors.

We know babies continue to be born alive. Data from health departments in just four states shows that at least 33 babies have been born alive after failed abortions since 2019 — the same year Virginia’s Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam, a doctor, described in a live interview how babies who survive abortions can be left to die.

The Born-Alive Act is both a fix for a longstanding problem and a response to growing Democratic extremism. This bill would simply ensure that any infant born alive after an abortion receives the same standard of care as any newborn baby.

It’s shocking that anyone would object to this requirement, which Americans overwhelmingly support — yet the Pelosi Democrats have blocked it for two years. If 218 members sign our petition, it would force the full House to vote. A record-breaking 202 members signed it on the first day, including 29 women — 19 of whom are new in Congress this year.

If just five Democrats join all their Republican colleagues and sign the petition, this bill will finally get the vote it deserves. That’s it. Surely there must be five Democrats who will stand up to Nancy Pelosi and defend the littlest of “little guys.”

But if members of Congress cannot even draw a line at infanticide, they don’t belong there. The pro-life movement will work day and night to educate voters and hold them accountable in the 2022 midterm elections.

Across the country, defenseless infants are fighting for their lives. They need us to fight for them. We hope every constituent will contact their legislators today and demand a vote, and we urge the Democrats to listen to the people. It’s time to stop the obstruction and end infanticide in America.

Rep. Kat Cammack was elected in 2020 to serve Florida’s 3rd District. Marjorie Dannenfelser is president of the national pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List.