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American Family Association Applauds Passage of Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act
Senate Must Now Follow Suit to Protect Babies Who Survive Abortion
TUPELO, Miss.—The American Family Association (AFA, www.afa.net) is applauding the U.S. House of Representatives after it passed the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which protects infants who survive abortion and implores doctors to provide care to them.
According to CBS, House Speaker Paul Ryan addressed attendees at the March for Life, saying, “Just a few minutes ago … we passed the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. It protects the life of those babies who suffer from failed abortions. But most importantly, like the March for Life, we are striving to do this without judgment in our hearts but with compassion and love for all the victims.” CBS also reported that President Donald Trump praised House Republicans for passing the bill and called on the Senate to also pass this “important law.”
Last week, AFA sent an Action Alert to its more than 1 million friends and supporters, urging them to call on Congress to end the killing of these babies. The House passed the measure 241-183 just before the March for Life on Friday. Today is the anniversary of the Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision of 1973 that legalized abortion in America.
AFA President Tim Wildmon says the Senate has a history of allowing pro-life bills to die.
“During the 114th Congress in 2014-15, this same bill passed the House, but a Republican majority in the U.S. Senate allowed the bill to die,” Wildmon said. “Senate Republican leadership, namely Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, is to blame, despite the overwhelming number of Republican Senators who would have voted for the bill.”
Wildmon added that the possibility looms of Senate leadership killing the bill again, as well as the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would ban abortions after about 20 weeks. This bill will die during the current Congress unless Senate leadership brings it up for a vote. If it passes, President Trump has promised to sign it into law.
Senate Republican leadership claims the reason they don’t bring up pro-life legislation is because they don’t have the 60 votes required to end a Democratic filibuster. AFA contends this is a smoke screen that establishment Senate Republicans use to avoid voting on hard issues like abortion.
AFA has repeatedly called on McConnell and the Senate to use parliamentary procedures to work around the 60-vote rule, yet 30 Republican senators continue to protect the filibuster rule—which is not in the Constitution. These 30 Republicans claim they want to keep the filibuster rule in the event Democrats regain the majority in the Senate. But to AFA, this is a defeatist attitude. In addition, Democrats are already on record to end the filibuster when they regain the Senate majority and pass their progressive agenda.
View the media page for AFA here. For more information on American Family Association, visit www.afa.net or follow AFA on Facebook or on Twitter @AmericanFamAssc.
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