(Oregon Right to Life) — Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill to protect babies who survive abortion attempts. The pro-life victory comes after Democrats blocked the companion bill introduced in the Senate the day prior.
The Republican-led House approved the measure by a 217-204 vote, with one Democrat siding with Republicans, the Hill reported. Like the Senate version introduced by pro-life Republican Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma, the House bill would implement enforceable standards of care for abortion survivors.
“I’m disappointed that Senate Democrats voted to block this critical bill earlier this week, sending a resounding message to the American people about their values,” Florida Republican Rep. Kat Cammack, who cosponsored the bill, said in a January 23 statement. “In the meantime, we in the House will continue to do what is right to push this bill toward President Trump’s desk.”
Republicans and pro-life advocates are celebrating the passage of the bill, which also comes amid a slate of new actions by the new Trump administration, including the pardon of 23 pro-life advocates held in prison under the Biden administration for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, a federal statute frequently used to penalize pro-life advocates.
“I am so grateful the House passed my vital legislation to ensure babies who survive an abortion are afforded lifesaving medical care,” Missouri Republican Rep. Ann Wagner, the bill’s sponsor, said in a press statement. “Innocent children deserve the opportunity to live and thrive – period. It’s up to us to be the voice for these babies who are at their most vulnerable and ensure they get the love and care they need.”
“Protecting babies born alive following an abortion should not be complicated,” National Right to Life Committee president Carol Tobias said in a Thursday press release. “The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act is life-saving legislation designed to protect a baby who is born alive following an abortion. “
Republicans and pro-life advocates have long pushed for federal legislation to enshrine explicit protections for babies who survive abortion attempts.
The 2002 Born-Alive Protection Act, which is already federal law, defines infants who survive abortion as “persons” – but it doesn’t specify standards of care. While infanticide is illegal, the lack of clearly defined protections for babies born alive during abortions makes them vulnerable to medical neglect, triggering ongoing efforts by pro-life advocates and lawmakers to implement specific requirements that abortion providers sustain the life of newborns who survive abortions.
The CDC estimates that, between 2003 and 2014 (the most recent reporting available), approximately 143 babies were born alive but did not ultimately survive after failed induced abortions, though it’s unclear whether action was taken to attempt life-saving care. Moreover, the CDC notes that “it is possible that this number (143) underestimates the total number of deaths involving induced termination.” Witness statements and recorded remarks from a late-term abortion doctor indicate that fatal neglect in such cases do indeed occur.
WATCH: Abortion survivors Amy Miles and Michelle Lyman share their stories
The passage of the House bill to protect babies born alive during abortions coincides with the national March for Life, set to take place on Friday in commemoration of the now-overturned Roe v. Wade decision that created a federal “right” to abortion in 1973.
Potentially signalling a pro-life direction for the new presidential administration, Trump’s second-in-command, J.D. Vance, is set to give his first speech as vice president at the March for Life, The Daily Wire reported.