Democrats Kill Bill to Protect Babies Born Alive After Botched Abortions

State   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Mar 6, 2017   |   11:59AM   |   Santa Fe, New Mexico

New Mexico House Democrats blocked a bill Thursday that would have required doctors to provide life-saving medical care to babies born alive after botched abortions.

The Democrat-majority state House committee voted to table the bill in a 3-2 party line vote, The Albuquerque Journal reports.

The bill, sponsored by Minority Whip Rod Montoya, a Republican, would have required abortion practitioners and other doctors to try to preserve the life and health of a baby born alive after a botched abortion. The bill also would have required the same protections for babies born in miscarriages and natural births, according to the report. It would have made it a first-degree felony to intentionally kill an infant born alive after one of these procedures.

“This is not an abortion bill,” Montoya said. “This is a human rights bill for infants who are born alive – whether it’s following an abortion, a miscarriage or a natural birth.”

Here’s more from the report:

The House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee heard emotional testimony and debate for about two hours – as supporters of the legislation described the horrors of botched abortions and the killing of infants.

But in the end, the committee’s three Democrats voted to table the bill, preventing it from proceeding through the Legislature.

Opponents of the bill said that laws and medical standards are already in place covering how to handle abortion and other procedures.

Dr. Sandra Penn, a physician for more than 30 years, urged the committee to avoid “political interference” in medical care.

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On Sunday, the state House committee rejected two more abortion-related bills, New Mexico Politics reports. One bill would have prohibited abortions after 20 weeks when strong scientific evidence indicates unborn babies can feel pain. The second would have required that a parent or guardian be notified before a minor has an abortion.

Both bills failed in 3-2 party line votes, according to the report.

Though abortion advocates sometimes deny it, babies are born alive after failed abortion attempts. Nurse Jill Stanek became a nationally-known figure after she testified to Congress about finding a baby who was born alive after a botched abortion and left to die at a Chicago-area hospital.

Stanek’s experience shocked and horrified millions of people, and her testimony helped to pass the Born Alive Infants Protection Act under President George W. Bush.

A new federal bill, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, introduced by U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, would strengthen these protections.

In February 2016, LifeNews reported a baby was born alive after a botched abortion at a late-term abortion facility in Phoenix, Arizona. The baby later died at the hospital.

A 911 audio file, obtained by NBC 11 in Arizona, confirmed that the abortion clinic staff saw the 21-week baby was alive and breathing before it died. Reports did not indicate whether the baby was a boy or girl.

One of the nurses said she saw the baby move more than 10 minutes after it was taken from the womb, according to KPNX 12 News. When the nurse took the baby to weigh it on a scale, she said she saw it move and struggle to breath. “Oh my God, this fetus is moving,” she said, according to police.

LifeNews has documented dozens of cases of babies who were miraculously born alive after failed abortions. Melissa Ohden, Gianna Jessen and Claire Culwell are just a few examples. The three women are strong pro-life advocates who speak across the country about how their lives are valuable, even though they almost were killed in the womb by abortionists.

In March 2016, Ohden shared her story during a U.S. Senate Judiciary hearing, and urged lawmakers to support the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.

“What I would hope that comes out of this is not only that more children like me are protected and given proper medical care when we survive, but that women receive education,” Ohden told CNSNews.com following her testimony. “Let’s talk about the truth, the truth behind how children feel pain, the truth about what abortion does, the truth of what abortion is.”

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