Congressional vote On Sept. 18, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 248-177 to approve a bill that would give a born baby who survives an abortion the same protection under the law as “any person who comes to a hospital, clinic, or other facility for screening and treatment or otherwise becomes a patient within its care.”
Under the bill, the Congressional Research Service explained, “An individual who commits an overt act that kills a child born alive is subject to criminal prosecution for murder.”
Of the 177 members of Congress (all Democrats) who voted against the bill were Maryland representatives Steny Hoyer, Elijah Cummings, Dutch Ruppersberger, Chris Van Hollen, Donna Edwards and John Sarbanes. John Delaney did not cast a vote. Republican Andy Harris voted for the bill.
It is appalling that our representatives voted not to protect a child who is born alive. Granted, the abortion issue is complex. Once a child is born alive, that complexity vanishes. Gone are the questions of when life begins, the personhood of the fetus and the rights of the woman. The baby is alive, is a person and has rights of his/her own, primary of which is the right to life.
Greg Malanowski
Baltimore
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