the House of Representatives The United States has passed a bill that would penalize doctors who do not provide life-saving care to infants born alive after an attempted abortion.
All but one Democrat voted against the bill, which was approved by a vote of 217 to 204, with all Republicans in favor. One Democrat, Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, voted “present.”
The bill directs health care practitioners to act “with the same degree of professional skill, care and diligence” for a baby born with a heartbeat after a miscarriage as during a natural birth. Doctors who violate this rule will be fined or sentenced to up to five years in prison.
All Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives voted against the bill (Chip Somodevila/Getty Images)
House GOP leaders praised the bill, with Minnesota Republican Tom Emmer telling Fox News Digital: “Requiring medical care for babies born alive after a failed abortion is not controversial, it makes sense.”
“The fact that Democrats would rather support the killing of children than vote for this bill shows how extreme and out of touch they are with their party,” Emmer said.
Democrats say the bill is unnecessary, given existing laws against infanticide and murder, and could endanger the lives of women who seek late-term abortions due to medical emergencies while unfairly penalizing doctors.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer criticized all Democrats who voted against the bill. (Stephen Maturin/Getty Images)
“No one goes through pregnancy and everything that comes with it… and then eight or nine months after that it's like, 'No, I don't want to do this,'” Rep. Sarah Jacobs, D-Calif., said during the conference. Discussing the draft law, adding that late operations accounted for about 1% of abortions. “It is due to a serious defect in the fetus or the mother’s health.”
She said the bill “is not based on science or reality.”
numerous Democrats who They spoke against the bill themselves and underwent emergency abortion procedures with non-viable pregnancies.
Among them was Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez, who said the bill would allow women to “die on the operating table because doctors are afraid to go to prison.”
Representative Sarah Jacobs was among the Democrats who spoke in favor of the bill. (Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Republicans said the bill would prevent children from being “left to die in a closet, alone and disposed of like medical waste,” Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-Minn., said during the debate.
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Texas Republican Representative Chip Roy said: “These precious children, American citizens, deserve to be protected because they are alive.”
The vote comes after Democrats rejected the bill In the Senate Earlier this week. The legislation failed to pass a procedural hurdle that required 60 votes to allow discussion of its final passage.
