Senate Passes Born-Alive Infants Act

CWNews.com ^ | Jul 19, 02

[nickcarraway]

WASHINGTON, DC, Jul 19, 02 (CWNews.com) - The US Senate on Thursday passed a bill protecting children born alive from being killed-- even if it the child is born during an abortion. The bill now goes to the White House for President George W. Bush's signature. The Senate passed the bill unanimously and was passed by the House in March.

The Born-Alive Infants Protection Act would amend the legal definitions of "person," "human being," "child," and "individual" to include a live birth that has occurred as part of an abortion. Supporters of the law noted numerous documented instances of children born during abortions who were left to die or were smothered by doctors.

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

GOD IN HEAVEN ANOTHER MIRACLE THANK YOU LORD!!!

[willa]

`(b) As used in this section, the term `born alive' , with respect to a member of the species homo sapiens, means the complete expulsion or extraction from his or her mother of that member, at any stage of development, who after such expulsion or extraction breathes or has a beating heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles, regardless of whether the umbilical cord has been cut, and regardless of whether the expulsion or extraction occurs as a result of natural or induced labor, cesarean section, or induced abortion.

A partial birth abortion is a complete expulsion of a dead infant. They kill it before it is completely born. Obviously the purpose of partial birth abortion was to produce a dead baby - why? Could it be killing after birth was already a crime? This will do NOTHING to stop partial birth abortions since they define a baby as a "live birth." Partial birth produces dead babies.

I really don't see what huge gain was made here, except that an abortionist will be more careful to kill it prior to birth. They've actually now defined that life begins after birth. This is good??? What am I missing here?

`(a) In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the words `person', `human being', `child', and `individual', shall include every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development.

It is hard for me to believe that many Americans would be in favor of smothering a baby who survived an abortion. It is my guess that few know that this is even going on. I doubt the politicians figure they'll get much critisism for passing this one.

[Inkie]

In the House, some people did oppose it. I was heartened, however, to hear that leftie Charles Rangel speak on behalf of passing it when he said, "If it would be illegal to shoot the infant, it should also be illegal to leave it to die or smother it." (I might not have the exact quote, but it was very close to that.)

[Hacksaw]

Amazing that Daschle would let this be voted on.

Good job, Senators.

[getbillnow]

How many people think a new law can stop these professional butchers, raise your hand?

[Reaganwuzthebest]

Hey man, I got the double whammy, I believe my Representative, Nita Lowey also voted against it.

Wouldn't suprise me. NY State is liberal La La land. Even most of the Republicans are RINO's, with Pataki leading the pack.

[Freee-dame]

"With strong support from the Religious Right..."

The Religious Right is right again.

[kancel]

Well unless she perjured herself:

From: http://www.house.gov/judiciary/stan0720.htm

Testimony of Jill L. Stanek, RN

Hearing on H.R. 4292, the "Born Alive Infant Protection Act of 2000"

July 20, 2000

I am a Registered Nurse who has worked in the Labor & Delivery Department at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois, for the past five years. Christ Hospital performs abortions on women in their second or even third trimesters of pregnancy. Sometimes the babies being aborted are healthy, and sometimes they are not.

The method of abortion that Christ Hospital uses is called "induced labor abortion," also now known as "live birth abortion." This type of abortion can be performed different ways, but the goal always is to cause a pregnant woman's cervix to open so that she will deliver a premature baby who dies during the birth process or soon afterward. The way that induced abortion is most often executed at my hospital is by the physician inserting a medication called Cytotec into the birth canal close to the cervix. Cytotec irritates the cervix and stimulates it to open. When this occurs, the small, preterm baby drops out of the uterus, oftentimes alive. It is not uncommon for one of these live aborted babies to linger for an hour or two or even longer. One of them once lived for almost eight hours.

In the event that a baby is aborted alive, he or she receives no medical assessments or care but is only given what my hospital calls "comfort care." "Comfort care" is defined as keeping the baby warm in a blanket until he or she dies, although even this minimal compassion is not always provided. It is not required that these babies be held during their short lives.

One night, a nursing co-worker was taking an aborted Down's Syndrome baby who was born alive to our Soiled Utility Room because his parents did not want to hold him, and she did not have time to hold him. I could not bear the thought of this suffering child dying alone in a Soiled Utility Room, so I cradled and rocked him for the 45 minutes that he lived. He was 21 to 22 weeks old, weighed about ½ pound, and was about 10 inches long. He was too weak to move very much, expending any energy he had trying to breathe. Toward the end he was so quiet that I couldn't tell if he was still alive unless I held him up to the light to see if his heart was still beating through his chest wall. After he was pronounced dead, we folded his little arms across his chest, wrapped him in a tiny shroud, and carried him to the hospital morgue where all of our dead patients are taken.

Other co-workers have told me many upsetting stories about live aborted babies whom they have cared for. I was told about an aborted baby who was supposed to have Spina bifida but was delivered with an intact spine. Another nurse is haunted by the memory of an aborted baby who came out weighing much more than expected ~ almost two pounds. She is haunted because she doesn't know if she made a mistake by not getting that baby medical help. A Support Associate told me about a live aborted baby who was left to die on the counter of the Soiled Utility Room wrapped in a disposable towel. This baby was accidentally thrown into the garbage, and when they later were going through the trash to find the baby, the baby fell out of the towel and on to the floor.

I was recently told about a situation by a nurse who said, "I can't stop thinking about it." She had a patient who was 23+ weeks pregnant, and it did not look as if her baby would be able to continue to live inside of her. The baby was healthy and had up to a 39% chance of survival, according to national statistics. But the patient chose to abort. The baby was born alive. If the mother had wanted everything done for her baby, there would have been a neonatologist, pediatric resident, neonatal nurse, and respiratory therapist present for the delivery, and the baby would have been taken to our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for specialized care. Instead, the only personnel present for this delivery were an obstetrical resident and my co-worker. After delivery the baby, who showed early signs of thriving, was merely wrapped in a blanket and kept in the Labor & Delivery Department until she died 2-1/2 hours later.

Something is very wrong with a legal system that says doctors are mandated to pronounce babies dead but are not mandated to assess babies for life and chances of survival. In other words, our laws currently say that babies have no rights to medical oversight until they are dead. We look the other way and pretend that these babies aren't human while they're alive but human only after they are dead. We issue these babies both birth and death certificates, but it is really only the death certificate that matters. No other children in America are medically abandoned like this.

Abortion is a cancer that is literally killing America. It is killing our children while it is killing our consciences. It began when we took God out of our decision-making and proclaimed that the little beings growing inside of women were "products of conception" and not little girls and little boys. Who should be surprised that we keep pushing the envelope so that now we are aborting these "products of conception" alive? I even work at a hospital named "Christ" that does this very thing! It is beyond me to comprehend that we're doing what we're doing now, and so I can't even imagine what horrible ways we will think of next to torture our children. Please help put an end to this by proclaiming infants as American human being homo sapiens with the same legal and medical rights that you and I big people have. Thank you.

[kancel]

Do you know if Jill Stanek is the one that ran into the mother of one of these murder babies? Somehow she ran into this lady years later. The lady was depressed and upon getting the story out of the mother the nurse realized that the baby was the same on she had cared for as he passed away.

I would love to get my hands on that story again.

[kancel]

We do.

We try to encourage abstinence only education in schools rather that put a condom on a dildo class. At this point I think I might even be happy if they would just teach the word and defnition of abstinence. Unfortanatly those who believe otherwise have the ears of those who could change this.

At the very mention of the word abstinence the media brings up the stereotypical image of some prudish, shrill religious nutcase damning everyone to hell for having premarital sex. You don't overcome that image overnight. Especially when people are too busy having sex.

[Sacajaweau]

Obviously this was always murder. It took legislation to "say" it was murder.

Feel sorry for the nurses etc who were "forced" to participate in these events.

Sac

[hoosierham]

You realize that if the nurses all refused to have anything to do with abortions, the carnage would lessen ; better yet if the nurses refused to have anything to do (like sex relations) with abortion doctors it would stop the vast majority immediately.

We only have legal abortions because the WOMEN want casual sex without responsiblity.A WOMAN must ask for the procedure in the U.S. of A. (unlike Communist China where it is forced upon her.)

[foreshadowed at waco]

I saw a woman interviewed yesterday on one of the cable shows--she was from the Concerned Women of America--she said that the House is currently working on a bill to ban partial-birth abortion that will hopefully be constitutional in its wording--she mentioned the passage of this bill as well--they even showed an ad with her in it that is running in South Dakota that accuses Daschle of holding up judicial nominees and cites the 'pledge' judge in California as the type of judges that Democrats are holding out for...LOL!

[Republic If You Can Keep It]

"Anti-abortion people should start with trying to stop pre-marital sex....then you wouldn't have most abortions"

Of course we're trying to do both, but these are two separate issues.

Killing is just as real regardless of the circumstances of conception.

[Sungirl]

I don't think it's two seperate issues at all...many abortions are started with pre-marial sex. Maybe 95%. That's a huge problem. So if you're really sincere about stopping abortions...start with the real problem...attitudes about sex ....start with parents or societies duty to stop slutty free sex behavior and self-respect. Get rid of R rated crap on cable. I think it's all lost and too late though...so I guess we have to live with the consequences of what WE let happen to the kids....lack of respect for themselves, animals, or others. Otherwise your talking to a wall and wasting your breath about abortion...your starting at the end instead of the beginning.

[Republic If You Can Keep It]

Your logic is hard to follow. It reminds me of those who claim that abortion is justified in cases of rape or incest. They're wrong. Killing the unborn is itself the issue; how the child's life began is immaterial.

[Sungirl]

I have to wonder about your choice of words. I think it's misleading.
'Killing'...'unborn child'....of course this is relevant with the stage of growth of the fetus. A fetus that cannot live outside the womb is different from one that can...IMHO.

[wontbackdown]

When people start to see living children who were burned or maimed during an attempt to murder them in the womb, it may put an end to abortion in this country - and I hope it does!

[Palmetto]

I don't think it's two seperate issues at all...many abortions are started with pre-marial sex. Maybe 95%. That's a huge problem. So if you're really sincere about stopping abortions...start with the real problem...attitudes about sex ....start with parents or societies duty to stop slutty free sex behavior and self-respect. Get rid of R rated crap on cable.

Sun, while I agree re: your attitudes about pre-marital sex being the source of most abortions, and moreover, that it is a fundamentally better approach to tackle the source of a problem this heinous rather than just the results, you've got a Constitution glaring at you over in the corner.

I feel that fetuses (Unborn-Americans) are deserving of equal protection under the law, just like you and I. "Getting rid of R-rated crap on cable" would require repealing the first amendment, which would be substantially more difficult an undertaking than overturning Roe v. Wade, not to mention that I sort of like that amendment just fine the way it is.

[Republic If You Can Keep It]

" 'Killing'...'unborn child'....of course this is relevant with the stage of growth of the fetus"


Not at all.

Life begins at conception. Ending the life of another person is killing.