Sen. Bob Casey Jr., who touts himself as a “pro-life” Democrat, promised Tuesday to vote for a radical pro-abortion bill that would force states to legalize the killing of unborn babies in abortions up to birth.
The Pennsylvania senator announced his support for the so-called Women’s Health Protection Act ahead of a scheduled vote Wednesday in the U.S. Senate. Pro-life groups say a better name for the bill is the Abortion Without Limits Up to Birth Act.
“In the nearly three months since the Senate last voted on the Women’s Health Protection Act, the circumstances around the entire debate on abortion have changed,” Casey said in a statement.
Despite claiming to be pro-life and Catholic, the senator said he will support the pro-abortion bill, and he never has and never will support a ban on abortions.
He continued: “In light of the leaked Supreme Court decision draft overturning Roe v. Wade, and subsequent reports that Republicans in the U.S. House and Senate will introduce legislation to enact a nationwide six-week ban, the real question of the moment is: do you support a categorical ban on abortion? During my time in public office, I have never voted for — nor do I support — such a ban.”
Pro-life leaders said there is no way Casey can continue to call himself pro-life.
“Because of his actions and words, I think Sen. Casey has abandoned legitimate use of the pro-life label,” Michael Geer, president of the Pennsylvania Family Institute, told the Associated Press.
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Maria V. Gallagher, legislative director of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, called Casey’s announcement “the most egregious of flip-flops,” noting how his father, former Pennsylvania Gov. Bob Casey Sr., supported the very same pro-life laws that the pro-abortion bill would eliminate.
“Casey’s father, as governor of Pennsylvania, signed into law the landmark Abortion Control Act, which provided such important safeguards as a ban on late-term abortions, 24-hour waiting periods for abortion, informed consent prior to abortion, parental consent for abortion and a ban on sex-selection abortions,” Gallagher wrote at National Right to Life News Today.
The bill that Casey Jr. supports would get rid of bans on partial-birth abortions, late-term abortions, sex-selection abortions and taxpayer-funded abortions. Laws that protect women and girls would be eliminated, too, including parental consent for minors and informed consent laws that ensure mothers receive basic facts about their unborn baby’s development before going through with an abortion.
The bill also would force states to legalize the killing of unborn babies for basically any reason up to birth even if Roe is overturned.
However, the bill is not expected to pass. Democrats need 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, and their party only holds 50 seats in the Senate. One Democrat, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, of West Virginia, is expected to vote against the bill as are the two pro-abortion Republicans, U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska, and Susan Collins, of Maine.
While Collins supports abortion, she said the bill is too extreme because it could force Catholic hospitals and other pro-life health care groups to do abortions, according to Raw Story.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called for a vote on the legislation after news broke last week about a leaked U.S. Supreme Court draft ruling that overturns Roe v. Wade. It is not a final ruling.
The Roe ruling forces states to legalize the killing of unborn babies in abortions up to viability and allows states to legalize abortions up to birth. Since then, about 63 million unborn babies and hundreds of mothers have died in supposedly “safe, legal” abortions.
If Roe is overturned, as many as 26 other states will protect unborn babies by banning abortions, the Guttmacher Institute predicts.
Polls consistently show that most Americans support strong legal protections for unborn babies – more than what Roe allows. LifeNews highlighted 11 recent polls here. A new Rasmussen poll this week shows more Americans want Roe v. Wade overturned (48 percent) than want the ruling to remain in place (45 percent).
