ELECTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES
House Democrats Block Request to Vote on Bill to Stop Infanticide For a Third Time
For the third time in three days, House Democrats blocked a request by Republicans to vote on a bill that would stop infanticide.
This is the fourth time Congressional Democrats thwarted an attempt by Republicans to vote on a bill that would provide medical care and treatment for babies who provide survived failed abortions — three times in the House and once in the Senate.
Yesterday, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise asked Democrats to allow a vote on what should be a noncontroversial bill. They refused.
“Before the entire House, I asked for immediate consideration of a bill that protects infants born alive during abortions. But Democrats rejected my motion and refused to consider it. Why won’t they go on record and tell the American people where they stand on infanticide?” Scalise asked on Twitter following the denial.
Today, pro-life Congresswoman Ann Wagner of Missouri asked the House for unanimous consent to bring up the bill to stop infanticide. House Democrats blocked it:
As LifeNews reported, pro-abortion Senator Patty Murray blocked a vote on Monday on a bill from pro-life Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska that would stop infanticide nationwide. Then, yesterday, Democrats blocked Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s unanimous consent request to vote on the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.
House Republicans will bring up the request to vote on the Born Alive bill every day for the next 30 days.
House Republicans have introduced their version of a bill to stop infanticide. Their measure is comparable to the Senate bill that for abortion Senator Patty Murray objected to earlier this week.
The vote would come after Virginia Governor Ralph Northam endorsed infanticide on a radio show last week.
“Yesterday, Speaker Pelosi took the President of the nation’s largest abortion business to the State of the Union address and today she’s blocking legislation that makes it illegal to leave a newborn baby to die. This is morally repugnant. Passing the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act shouldn’t be hard – there are only two sides to this debate: you’re defending babies or you’re defending infanticide,” Senator Sasse told LifeNews after yesterday’s denial.
The House Republican leaders also said they will be working on a petition that would bring the bill to the floor of the house for a vote over speaker Nancy Pelosi’s objections.
Today, Representative Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) announced the re-introduction of the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, legislation designed to ensure any infant born alive after an abortion receives the same protection of law as any newborn: mandating care and instituting penalties for doctors who allow such infants to die or who intentionally kill a newborn.
House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), an original cosponsor, will introduce a resolution providing for floor consideration of Wagner’s legislation. After 30 legislative days, Whip Scalise and Rep. Wagner will file a discharge petition that would force a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives upon being signed by a majority of members of the House.
“Innocent life must be defended and protected at every stage, and that includes babies born alive during an abortion. We must immediately extend legal protections to these vulnerable newborns and prosecute any doctor who would leave them to die,” said Whip Scalise.
He added: “I introduced this resolution to begin the process of forcing a vote on Congresswoman Wagner’s important piece of legislation, especially after horrific actions taken in New York and Virginia to permit infanticide. The silence from Congressional Democrats is deafening and shameful. Every Member of Congress, regardless of party, needs to go on record against infanticide, and we must immediately take action to stop it. The American people deserve to know where their representatives stand on this critical issue.”
“I have been horrified to watch radical Democratic legislators argue that babies who survive abortions should not be given the same level of medical care that all other newborn babies receive.” said Representative Wagner.
She added: “Congress must act to protect those who cannot protect themselves. That is why I introduced the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which merely ensures that babies who survive abortions receive immediate, lifesaving care—just as any other baby would. To my colleagues, this is the simplest vote you will ever take: either you support babies being killed after they are born or you don’t. It is time to go on the record and make clear if you think babies born alive deserve medical care, or if you think they should be left to die.”
The legislation requires that health care practitioners who are present at the live birth exercise skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and health of the child—the same degree of care that would be offered to any other child born prematurely the same gestational age. After those efforts, the health care workers must transport and admit the child to a hospital.
It also requires health care practitioners and hospital employees to report violations to law enforcement authorities, reducing the number of born-alive abortions that go unreported.
The law penalizes the intentional killing of a born-alive child through fines or up to 5 years imprisonment and it gives the mother of the abortion survivor a civil cause of action and protection from prosecution, recognizing that women are the second victims of abortion and promoting the dignity of motherhood.
This is the fourth time Congressional Democrats thwarted an attempt by Republicans to vote on a bill that would provide medical care and treatment for babies who provide survived failed abortions — three times in the House and once in the Senate.
Yesterday, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise asked Democrats to allow a vote on what should be a noncontroversial bill. They refused.
“Before the entire House, I asked for immediate consideration of a bill that protects infants born alive during abortions. But Democrats rejected my motion and refused to consider it. Why won’t they go on record and tell the American people where they stand on infanticide?” Scalise asked on Twitter following the denial.
Today, pro-life Congresswoman Ann Wagner of Missouri asked the House for unanimous consent to bring up the bill to stop infanticide. House Democrats blocked it:
As LifeNews reported, pro-abortion Senator Patty Murray blocked a vote on Monday on a bill from pro-life Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska that would stop infanticide nationwide. Then, yesterday, Democrats blocked Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s unanimous consent request to vote on the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.
House Republicans will bring up the request to vote on the Born Alive bill every day for the next 30 days.
House Republicans have introduced their version of a bill to stop infanticide. Their measure is comparable to the Senate bill that for abortion Senator Patty Murray objected to earlier this week.
The vote would come after Virginia Governor Ralph Northam endorsed infanticide on a radio show last week.
“Yesterday, Speaker Pelosi took the President of the nation’s largest abortion business to the State of the Union address and today she’s blocking legislation that makes it illegal to leave a newborn baby to die. This is morally repugnant. Passing the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act shouldn’t be hard – there are only two sides to this debate: you’re defending babies or you’re defending infanticide,” Senator Sasse told LifeNews after yesterday’s denial.
The House Republican leaders also said they will be working on a petition that would bring the bill to the floor of the house for a vote over speaker Nancy Pelosi’s objections.
Today, Representative Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) announced the re-introduction of the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, legislation designed to ensure any infant born alive after an abortion receives the same protection of law as any newborn: mandating care and instituting penalties for doctors who allow such infants to die or who intentionally kill a newborn.
House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), an original cosponsor, will introduce a resolution providing for floor consideration of Wagner’s legislation. After 30 legislative days, Whip Scalise and Rep. Wagner will file a discharge petition that would force a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives upon being signed by a majority of members of the House.
“Innocent life must be defended and protected at every stage, and that includes babies born alive during an abortion. We must immediately extend legal protections to these vulnerable newborns and prosecute any doctor who would leave them to die,” said Whip Scalise.
He added: “I introduced this resolution to begin the process of forcing a vote on Congresswoman Wagner’s important piece of legislation, especially after horrific actions taken in New York and Virginia to permit infanticide. The silence from Congressional Democrats is deafening and shameful. Every Member of Congress, regardless of party, needs to go on record against infanticide, and we must immediately take action to stop it. The American people deserve to know where their representatives stand on this critical issue.”
“I have been horrified to watch radical Democratic legislators argue that babies who survive abortions should not be given the same level of medical care that all other newborn babies receive.” said Representative Wagner.
She added: “Congress must act to protect those who cannot protect themselves. That is why I introduced the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which merely ensures that babies who survive abortions receive immediate, lifesaving care—just as any other baby would. To my colleagues, this is the simplest vote you will ever take: either you support babies being killed after they are born or you don’t. It is time to go on the record and make clear if you think babies born alive deserve medical care, or if you think they should be left to die.”
The legislation requires that health care practitioners who are present at the live birth exercise skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and health of the child—the same degree of care that would be offered to any other child born prematurely the same gestational age. After those efforts, the health care workers must transport and admit the child to a hospital.
It also requires health care practitioners and hospital employees to report violations to law enforcement authorities, reducing the number of born-alive abortions that go unreported.
The law penalizes the intentional killing of a born-alive child through fines or up to 5 years imprisonment and it gives the mother of the abortion survivor a civil cause of action and protection from prosecution, recognizing that women are the second victims of abortion and promoting the dignity of motherhood.
Former Planned Parenthood workers broadcast preborn babies’ heartbeats
Tens of thousands of people flooded downtown San Francisco on Saturday as they gathered to support the rights of the unborn. At least 50,000 people showed up to the 15th Annual Walk for Life, the second largest pro-life march in the nation, in a land with some of the most liberal pro-abortion legislation in the nation, but also some of the most robust social welfare. With signs declaring, “I Am the Pro-Life Generation” and “Women’s rights begin in the womb,” they stood together for equal rights for the unborn.
As part of the event, seven pregnant women, including two former Planned Parenthood workers, stood on a stage in San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza, placed microphones to their bellies and broadcast their babies’ heartbeats with megaphones. Abby Johnson, who made headlines in 2009 with the story of her leaving Planned Parenthood due to a pro-life conversion and dramatic and very public embrace of the pro-life movement, stood on the stage next to Patricia Sandoval. Both women formerly worked at Planned Parenthood, and described themselves as having had several abortions. These “babies saving babies,” as one tweet described it, were a “thundering repudiation of the Culture of Death.”
Sandoval and Johnson also spoke at the march, along with Fr. Shenan Bouquet of Human Life International (HLI), and Rev. Walter B Hoye II of Oakland, a nationally-renowned black pro-life leader, who, according to his bio on the Walk for Life’s website, “addresses the ‘Pro-Life Movement’ with special emphasis on the impact of ‘Abortion in the Black America’, ‘Personhood’ and the ‘Role of Men Meeting the Physical and Spiritual Needs of Women,’” according to his biography on the event’s website. Hoye is one of the original founders of the event.
As part of the event, Archbishop Cordelione celebrated Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral and gave a special papal blessing to those associated with the march. “What we are about today is part of a much bigger picture,” he said in an his homily delivered to the 4,000 Catholics in the Cathedral. “Respect for life in the womb is not an isolated cause, but more like a golden thread that weaves its way all throughout a beautiful tapestry.”
The event is held every year close to the January 22 anniversary of Roe v. Wade. This year marked 46 years since the infamous court decision.
As part of the event, seven pregnant women, including two former Planned Parenthood workers, stood on a stage in San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza, placed microphones to their bellies and broadcast their babies’ heartbeats with megaphones. Abby Johnson, who made headlines in 2009 with the story of her leaving Planned Parenthood due to a pro-life conversion and dramatic and very public embrace of the pro-life movement, stood on the stage next to Patricia Sandoval. Both women formerly worked at Planned Parenthood, and described themselves as having had several abortions. These “babies saving babies,” as one tweet described it, were a “thundering repudiation of the Culture of Death.”
Sandoval and Johnson also spoke at the march, along with Fr. Shenan Bouquet of Human Life International (HLI), and Rev. Walter B Hoye II of Oakland, a nationally-renowned black pro-life leader, who, according to his bio on the Walk for Life’s website, “addresses the ‘Pro-Life Movement’ with special emphasis on the impact of ‘Abortion in the Black America’, ‘Personhood’ and the ‘Role of Men Meeting the Physical and Spiritual Needs of Women,’” according to his biography on the event’s website. Hoye is one of the original founders of the event.
As part of the event, Archbishop Cordelione celebrated Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral and gave a special papal blessing to those associated with the march. “What we are about today is part of a much bigger picture,” he said in an his homily delivered to the 4,000 Catholics in the Cathedral. “Respect for life in the womb is not an isolated cause, but more like a golden thread that weaves its way all throughout a beautiful tapestry.”
The event is held every year close to the January 22 anniversary of Roe v. Wade. This year marked 46 years since the infamous court decision.
Planned Parenthood Now Runs Over Half of All Abortion Centers in America
American Life League’s STOPP program recently released our 2018 Planned Parenthood Facilities Report. It is an annual survey of all Planned Parenthood locations in the United States.
The report showed a continued decline in the total number of Planned Parenthood locations and a loss of seven surgical abortion centers. However, Planned Parenthood countered the trend by beginning medication abortions at eight more of its centers. Those openings, combined with the closure of a large number of independent abortion facilities in the nation, left Planned Parenthood running 51.5 percent of all free-standing abortuaries.
Looking at Planned Parenthood’s overall operations, it closed 11 centers in 11 states, while opening in just three new communities—one in each of three states. Planned Parenthood has gone from 938 facilities at its peak in 1995 to just 590 facilities at the end of 2018. This is a closing of 37 percent of its facilities! It was also noted that Wyoming and North Dakota are still the two states where Planned Parenthood does not operate a single medical facility.
Over the years, Planned Parenthood has tried to offset this loss of centers by opening larger and more upscale mega buildings to attract new customers and accommodate those people who went to its now-closed facilities. A careful analysis of the Planned Parenthood customer count—given in its annual reports from 2006 through 2016 shows this strategy is not working. During that 11-year stretch, Planned Parenthood closed 24.9 percent of its facilities, opened 15 mega abortion centers, and saw its customer base drop by 23.6 percent.
The dwindling facilities and customer numbers have also had an effect on Planned Parenthood’s single most lucrative activity—abortions. Despite its ever-increasing emphasis on abortion, it has struggled to even maintain its abortion numbers. Over the last nine years, PP has averaged 328,019 abortions a year, with a low of 321,384 and a high of 333,964. It currently commits 1,207 less than it did in 2011.
It is estimated that over 50,000 babies will be saved in 2019 because 348 PP centers are no longer around.
Here are just a few additional highlights from our report:
As political parties across the country appear to cave in to Planned Parenthood’s wishes, you will see from us an absolute increase in our spiritual efforts to close down this demonic organization.
To view the full report, which contains a great deal of additional information, go to: https://www.stopp.org/pdfs/2018/2018_PP_Facilities_Report.pdf
The report showed a continued decline in the total number of Planned Parenthood locations and a loss of seven surgical abortion centers. However, Planned Parenthood countered the trend by beginning medication abortions at eight more of its centers. Those openings, combined with the closure of a large number of independent abortion facilities in the nation, left Planned Parenthood running 51.5 percent of all free-standing abortuaries.
Looking at Planned Parenthood’s overall operations, it closed 11 centers in 11 states, while opening in just three new communities—one in each of three states. Planned Parenthood has gone from 938 facilities at its peak in 1995 to just 590 facilities at the end of 2018. This is a closing of 37 percent of its facilities! It was also noted that Wyoming and North Dakota are still the two states where Planned Parenthood does not operate a single medical facility.
Over the years, Planned Parenthood has tried to offset this loss of centers by opening larger and more upscale mega buildings to attract new customers and accommodate those people who went to its now-closed facilities. A careful analysis of the Planned Parenthood customer count—given in its annual reports from 2006 through 2016 shows this strategy is not working. During that 11-year stretch, Planned Parenthood closed 24.9 percent of its facilities, opened 15 mega abortion centers, and saw its customer base drop by 23.6 percent.
The dwindling facilities and customer numbers have also had an effect on Planned Parenthood’s single most lucrative activity—abortions. Despite its ever-increasing emphasis on abortion, it has struggled to even maintain its abortion numbers. Over the last nine years, PP has averaged 328,019 abortions a year, with a low of 321,384 and a high of 333,964. It currently commits 1,207 less than it did in 2011.
It is estimated that over 50,000 babies will be saved in 2019 because 348 PP centers are no longer around.
Here are just a few additional highlights from our report:
- Planned Parenthood has gone from 938 facilities in 1995 to just 590 facilities at the end of 2018.
- Planned Parenthood has a total of 357 facilities that commit surgical or medication abortions—a total number that has been consistent for the last four years.
- Every Planned Parenthood affiliate has at least one center that commits abortion. Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands commits abortions at 26 of its 27 centers. The one that doesn’t commit abortions is in Seattle (WA) where Planned Parenthood has four other centers that all do abortions.
- Surgical and/or medical abortions are committed at 60.5 percent of Planned Parenthood’s facilities.
- All 590 Planned Parenthood facilities distribute abortifacient drugs and devices
As political parties across the country appear to cave in to Planned Parenthood’s wishes, you will see from us an absolute increase in our spiritual efforts to close down this demonic organization.
To view the full report, which contains a great deal of additional information, go to: https://www.stopp.org/pdfs/2018/2018_PP_Facilities_Report.pdf
Dozens of Irish Doctors Storm Out of Meeting After They’re Told They Must Participate in Abortions
Dozens of Irish doctors walked out of an emergency meeting about abortion Sunday after they said their concerns about conscience protections are being ignored.
About 300 doctors attended the meeting by the Irish College of General Practitioners EGM in Dublin to discuss the government’s plans to legalize abortions starting Jan. 1, 2019, NewsTalk reports.
Dozens walked out after complaining that leaders have been ramming through the pro-abortion legislation without consulting the medical community or giving it ample time to prepare. Many doctors also fear being forced to help abort unborn babies against their consciences.
Dr. Andrew O’Regan, speaking for the GPs who walked out, said the meeting Sunday did nothing to address their concerns, the Irish Independent reports.
“The very false impression has been created [by] the Minister for Health that general practice is a suitable setting for abortion provision,” O’Regan said. “There are a whole spectrum of opinions within our grouping that left this meeting. People who felt differently about the abortion referendum but people that are united in that we have not been listened to and that we have not been genuinely engaged with in a respectful, democratic way.”
Dr. Illona Duffy, an OB-GYN, said the Irish health system is not ready to begin providing abortions on Jan. 1, the date when the government wants every maternity hospital to start aborting unborn babies.
Duffy told Breaking News Ireland that government leaders have not given them many details or involved them in plans to legalize abortion.
Here’s more from the report:
Dr Duffy said: “Ireland is one of the only countries where abortion services will be through GPs, it is usually through clinics. In most countries patients self-refer to clinics.”
There is a concern that GPs are already under pressure and this is an attempt to provide the service “on the cheap”.
She said: “GPs will be left dealing with this complicated process. This is being done without consultation and without taking our concerns into consideration.”
More than 640 general practitioners also signed a petition calling the pro-abortion legislation a “serious crisis,” according to the Connacht Tribune.
Fiona McHugh of Nurses and Midwives 4 Life told reporters that her group, which represents hundreds of medical workers, also has major concerns about the legislation. She said pro-abortion Health Minister Simon Harris has kept them “utterly in the dark,” though they repeatedly have asked to meet with him.
“We’ve had no meetings with Minister Harris at all …” McHugh said. “This service is to be rolled out in January and any service that is new to healthcare, there would be talk about how this is going to happen, you’d have to work through a process.
“None of this has happened, we’re completely and utterly in the dark,” she said.
Last week, the Dáil debated the pro-abortion bill, which would legalize abortion for any reason up to 12 weeks of pregnancy and up to six months in a wide variety of circumstances. It would force taxpayers to pay for abortions and force Catholic hospitals to provide them. The bill also strictly limits conscience protections for medical professionals. TDs rejected a series of amendments that would have provided at least some protections for unborn babies and taxpayers.
Hundreds of Irish doctors, nurses and midwives have been urging the health minister to meet with them to address a severe lack of conscience protections in the law. Without added protections, medical workers could be forced to help abort unborn babies or lose their jobs.
The bill would force Catholic hospitals and pregnancy centers to promote or provide abortions against their consciences as well. In September, Harris confirmed that Catholic hospitals will be forced to abort unborn babies, saying, “… conscientious objection is for individuals, not institutions.”
An October poll by Amárach found that 60 percent of Irish residents oppose taxpayer-funded abortions. In addition, a full 80 percent say health care workers should not be forced to carry out abortions against their conscience.
About 300 doctors attended the meeting by the Irish College of General Practitioners EGM in Dublin to discuss the government’s plans to legalize abortions starting Jan. 1, 2019, NewsTalk reports.
Dozens walked out after complaining that leaders have been ramming through the pro-abortion legislation without consulting the medical community or giving it ample time to prepare. Many doctors also fear being forced to help abort unborn babies against their consciences.
Dr. Andrew O’Regan, speaking for the GPs who walked out, said the meeting Sunday did nothing to address their concerns, the Irish Independent reports.
“The very false impression has been created [by] the Minister for Health that general practice is a suitable setting for abortion provision,” O’Regan said. “There are a whole spectrum of opinions within our grouping that left this meeting. People who felt differently about the abortion referendum but people that are united in that we have not been listened to and that we have not been genuinely engaged with in a respectful, democratic way.”
Dr. Illona Duffy, an OB-GYN, said the Irish health system is not ready to begin providing abortions on Jan. 1, the date when the government wants every maternity hospital to start aborting unborn babies.
Duffy told Breaking News Ireland that government leaders have not given them many details or involved them in plans to legalize abortion.
Here’s more from the report:
Dr Duffy said: “Ireland is one of the only countries where abortion services will be through GPs, it is usually through clinics. In most countries patients self-refer to clinics.”
There is a concern that GPs are already under pressure and this is an attempt to provide the service “on the cheap”.
She said: “GPs will be left dealing with this complicated process. This is being done without consultation and without taking our concerns into consideration.”
More than 640 general practitioners also signed a petition calling the pro-abortion legislation a “serious crisis,” according to the Connacht Tribune.
Fiona McHugh of Nurses and Midwives 4 Life told reporters that her group, which represents hundreds of medical workers, also has major concerns about the legislation. She said pro-abortion Health Minister Simon Harris has kept them “utterly in the dark,” though they repeatedly have asked to meet with him.
“We’ve had no meetings with Minister Harris at all …” McHugh said. “This service is to be rolled out in January and any service that is new to healthcare, there would be talk about how this is going to happen, you’d have to work through a process.
“None of this has happened, we’re completely and utterly in the dark,” she said.
Last week, the Dáil debated the pro-abortion bill, which would legalize abortion for any reason up to 12 weeks of pregnancy and up to six months in a wide variety of circumstances. It would force taxpayers to pay for abortions and force Catholic hospitals to provide them. The bill also strictly limits conscience protections for medical professionals. TDs rejected a series of amendments that would have provided at least some protections for unborn babies and taxpayers.
Hundreds of Irish doctors, nurses and midwives have been urging the health minister to meet with them to address a severe lack of conscience protections in the law. Without added protections, medical workers could be forced to help abort unborn babies or lose their jobs.
The bill would force Catholic hospitals and pregnancy centers to promote or provide abortions against their consciences as well. In September, Harris confirmed that Catholic hospitals will be forced to abort unborn babies, saying, “… conscientious objection is for individuals, not institutions.”
An October poll by Amárach found that 60 percent of Irish residents oppose taxpayer-funded abortions. In addition, a full 80 percent say health care workers should not be forced to carry out abortions against their conscience.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo Signs Bill Legalizing Abortions Up to Birth
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo wasted no time signing a radical pro-abortion bill into law Tuesday, January 23, 2019.
Just hours after the state Senate and Assembly passed it, Cuomo signed the bill, legalizing abortion for basically any reason up to birth in New York state, Rochester City Newspaper reports.
The pro-abortion governor gave Sarah Weddington, the attorney in the Roe v. Wade case, a special seat next to him Tuesday evening, as abortion activists around them cheered, the AP reports.
Cuomo said he hopes other states will follow in New York’s footsteps and pass similar pro-abortion laws.
“With the signing of this bill, we are sending a clear message that whatever happens in Washington, women in New York will always have the fundamental right to control their own body,” Cuomo said in a statement.
The so-called Reproductive Health Act goes beyond Roe v. Wade, allowing unborn babies to be aborted even when the U.S. Supreme Court has said states may restrict abortions. Late-term abortions, which currently are illegal in New York, would be allowed, and non-doctors would be allowed to perform them.
New York pro-lifers fought successfully for more than a decade to defeat the radical pro-abortion bill. But the November election put pro-abortion Democrats in control of both state houses, and the politicians made abortion on demand a priority for the new year.
New York State Right to Life mourned what the new law will mean for babies and mothers, but promised to continue fighting to protect them.
“RHA is an extreme bill sold to the public saying it merely ‘updates’ New York’s law, which is far from true,” the pro-life organization said in a statement. “RHA will expand abortion past 24 weeks through birth, make abortion a ‘fundamental right,’ and prohibit all limits, which Roe vs. Wade did not do.
“[We] will continue to work to expose the misinformation put forth about RHA, protect children and their mothers, protect the rights of pro-life persons to engage in life-saving activities and express their views, and to build a culture of Life in New York,” the group continued.
The law appears to restrict late-term abortions, but it adds a broad “health” exception for abortions after 24 weeks. The exception would allow women to abort unborn babies up to nine months of pregnancy for basically any reason, including “age, economic, social and emotional factors,” according to New York Right to Life.
It also redefines a “person” as “a human being who has been born and is alive,” and describes abortion as a “fundamental right.”
The legislation poses serious dangers to women’s lives and rights as well. By removing protections from illegal abortions, the law will open the door for abuses. According to New York RTL, back alley abortionists, abusive partners or parents and others no longer will face charges for illegally killing an unborn baby – even if the mother wants her child.
“In early December, a resident of Saratoga County was arrested for punching the stomach of a woman who was 26 weeks pregnant in an attempt to cause a miscarriage. The man was charged with abortion in the second degree, but under the RHA, the attacker would not have been charged with a felony,” according to the Catholic News Service.
Protections for babies born alive after botched abortions also would end under the new bill. Additionally, the bill says the state cannot “deny, regulate or restrict” abortion, not even for common-sense reasons such as parental consent for minors, informed consent or limits on taxpayer-funded abortions.
New York State Right to Life predicted that the bill will lead to the suppression of pro-lifers’ freedom of speech and conscience as well. Doctors and nurses who refuse to help abort unborn babies could lose their jobs, and pro-life advocates could be persecuted for just speaking out for life.
Already one of the most pro-abortion states in America, New York would become even more pro-abortion if the law passes. In 2016, 82,189 unborn babies were aborted in New York, with about half being taxpayer-funded, according to the local news. Of those babies, 1,763 were at least 20 weeks, meaning they may have been viable outside the womb.
Meanwhile, a new poll indicates this radical pro-abortion legislation is not what Americans want. According to a national poll conducted by Marist University, three in four Americans (75 percent) say abortion should be limited to – at most – the first three months of pregnancy. This includes most of those who identify as Republicans (92 percent), Independents (78 percent) and a majority of Democrats (60 percent). It also includes more than six in 10 (61 percent) who identify as “pro-choice” on abortion.
The Marist Poll follows on the heels of a May 2018 Gallup poll which found that 53 percent of Americans oppose all or most abortions.
Just hours after the state Senate and Assembly passed it, Cuomo signed the bill, legalizing abortion for basically any reason up to birth in New York state, Rochester City Newspaper reports.
The pro-abortion governor gave Sarah Weddington, the attorney in the Roe v. Wade case, a special seat next to him Tuesday evening, as abortion activists around them cheered, the AP reports.
Cuomo said he hopes other states will follow in New York’s footsteps and pass similar pro-abortion laws.
“With the signing of this bill, we are sending a clear message that whatever happens in Washington, women in New York will always have the fundamental right to control their own body,” Cuomo said in a statement.
The so-called Reproductive Health Act goes beyond Roe v. Wade, allowing unborn babies to be aborted even when the U.S. Supreme Court has said states may restrict abortions. Late-term abortions, which currently are illegal in New York, would be allowed, and non-doctors would be allowed to perform them.
New York pro-lifers fought successfully for more than a decade to defeat the radical pro-abortion bill. But the November election put pro-abortion Democrats in control of both state houses, and the politicians made abortion on demand a priority for the new year.
New York State Right to Life mourned what the new law will mean for babies and mothers, but promised to continue fighting to protect them.
“RHA is an extreme bill sold to the public saying it merely ‘updates’ New York’s law, which is far from true,” the pro-life organization said in a statement. “RHA will expand abortion past 24 weeks through birth, make abortion a ‘fundamental right,’ and prohibit all limits, which Roe vs. Wade did not do.
“[We] will continue to work to expose the misinformation put forth about RHA, protect children and their mothers, protect the rights of pro-life persons to engage in life-saving activities and express their views, and to build a culture of Life in New York,” the group continued.
The law appears to restrict late-term abortions, but it adds a broad “health” exception for abortions after 24 weeks. The exception would allow women to abort unborn babies up to nine months of pregnancy for basically any reason, including “age, economic, social and emotional factors,” according to New York Right to Life.
It also redefines a “person” as “a human being who has been born and is alive,” and describes abortion as a “fundamental right.”
The legislation poses serious dangers to women’s lives and rights as well. By removing protections from illegal abortions, the law will open the door for abuses. According to New York RTL, back alley abortionists, abusive partners or parents and others no longer will face charges for illegally killing an unborn baby – even if the mother wants her child.
“In early December, a resident of Saratoga County was arrested for punching the stomach of a woman who was 26 weeks pregnant in an attempt to cause a miscarriage. The man was charged with abortion in the second degree, but under the RHA, the attacker would not have been charged with a felony,” according to the Catholic News Service.
Protections for babies born alive after botched abortions also would end under the new bill. Additionally, the bill says the state cannot “deny, regulate or restrict” abortion, not even for common-sense reasons such as parental consent for minors, informed consent or limits on taxpayer-funded abortions.
New York State Right to Life predicted that the bill will lead to the suppression of pro-lifers’ freedom of speech and conscience as well. Doctors and nurses who refuse to help abort unborn babies could lose their jobs, and pro-life advocates could be persecuted for just speaking out for life.
Already one of the most pro-abortion states in America, New York would become even more pro-abortion if the law passes. In 2016, 82,189 unborn babies were aborted in New York, with about half being taxpayer-funded, according to the local news. Of those babies, 1,763 were at least 20 weeks, meaning they may have been viable outside the womb.
Meanwhile, a new poll indicates this radical pro-abortion legislation is not what Americans want. According to a national poll conducted by Marist University, three in four Americans (75 percent) say abortion should be limited to – at most – the first three months of pregnancy. This includes most of those who identify as Republicans (92 percent), Independents (78 percent) and a majority of Democrats (60 percent). It also includes more than six in 10 (61 percent) who identify as “pro-choice” on abortion.
The Marist Poll follows on the heels of a May 2018 Gallup poll which found that 53 percent of Americans oppose all or most abortions.