Legislator Slams Kentucky Gov Andy Beshear for Vetoing Anti-Infanticide Bill: We Must Protect Babies

State   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Apr 30, 2020   |   12:04PM   |   Frankfort, KY

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is facing on-going backlash for vetoing a bill last week that would have protected newborn babies from infanticide.

Kentucky Today reports state Sen. Ralph Alvarado criticized the Democrat governor’s claims that the legislation was unnecessary and “divisive.”

“This bipartisan and bicameral bill was about protecting newborn infants,” Alvarado said. “It was passed with an overwhelming majority of the legislature; a clear indication of the will of the people of the Commonwealth. It is blatantly obvious that this governor does not reflect the everyday family values that Kentucky holds so dear.”

State Senate Bill 9 would have required “reasonable life-saving and life-sustaining” medical care to be provided to infants who are born alive after failed abortions. Medical professionals who violated the measure could have faced criminal penalties and had their licenses revoked.

The legislation also would have given pro-life Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron the power to temporarily halt elective abortions during the coronavirus health crisis.

Beshear, a pro-abortion Democrat whose campaign was backed by the abortion industry, vetoed the bill Friday.

In his veto statement, he said the legislation is not necessary because newborns already are protected under the law, Jurist reports.

“… existing Kentucky law already fully protects children from being denied life-saving medical care and treatment when they are born,” Beshear said. “During this worldwide health pandemic, it is simply not the time for a divisive set of lawsuits that reduce our unity and our focus on defeating the novel coronavirus and restarting our economy.”

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But Alvarado, a doctor, said Beshear is wrong about the law.

“Currently, there is no Kentucky law that requires medical care be provided to any child born alive. Homicide statutes do not extend to what is, most regrettably, a legal medical procedure,” Alvarado said. “The governor’s argument to support his veto is flawed. Federal law recognizes that a child born alive is human, but requires no medical care be provided, and provides no penalty for healthcare providers that fail to provide care to a child born alive. It is also important to note that Kentucky does not enforce federal laws in our state court system.”

Alvarado said Beshear is a hypocrite who only claims to care about Kentuckians.

“While he claims that he is trying to protect and save the lives of Kentucky’s vulnerable citizens, his actions have made it clear that he is more interested in protecting the pocketbooks and radical agendas of those who fund his political campaigns,” the state senator said.

Earlier, state Attorney General Daniel Cameron also slammed the governor’s stated reasons for the veto. He said Beshear’s veto is what is truly “divisive” because he rejected a bill that “protects our most vulnerable,” Forward Kentucky reports.

“The governor, who claims to have everyday family values, vetoed a bill that would require babies born after failed abortions to receive live-saving medical care,” Cameron said.

Though abortion activists claim additional protections against infanticide are unnecessary, evidence suggests otherwise. Government health data indicates that at least 40 babies were born alive in abortions in just three states between 2016 and 2018. Researchers estimate that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of babies have survived abortions over the past several decades, but most states do not keep track of abortion survivors.

Reports by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) also indicate that there are infants born alive after botched abortions in the U.S. According to Congressional testimony:

Data that the CDC collects also confirms babies are born alive after attempted abortions.  Between the years 2003 and 2014 there were somewhere between 376 and 588 infant deaths under the medical code P96.4 which keeps track of babies born alive after a “termination of pregnancy.”

The CDC concluded that of the 588 babies, 143 were “definitively” born alive after an attempted abortion and they lived from minutes to one or more days, with 48% of the babies living between one to four hours.  It also admitted that it’s possible the number is an underestimate (B).

Senate Bill 9 is similar to federal legislation that pro-abortion Democrats blocked in the U.S. House. Demonstrating their loyalty to the billion-dollar abortion industry, Democrats blocked the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act 80 times last year. The bill requires abortionists to provide the same basic medical care to an infant born alive after a failed abortion that a doctor would to any other infant born at that stage of pregnancy.

ACTION ALERT: Contact Gov. Andy Beshear.