Family Research Council Urges House Members to Sign Discharge Petition on Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act

WASHINGTON, April 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- For years Speaker Nancy Pelosi has refused to allow the House of Representatives to vote up or down on the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (H.R. 619). Family Research Council is urging Members of the U.S. House of Representatives to sign onto a discharge petition filed today by Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) to force the Speaker to allow a vote. In the 116^th Congress, the discharge petition received 205 signatures of the required 218, 191 of those signatures coming on the first day.  

Currently 36 states have at least some born alive protections. However, only 18 states have the three elements of strong born-alive protections reflected in the federal Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. That means that federal law and 32 states do not adequately protect the lives of infants who survive abortion. Since 2019 Kentucky, South Dakota, and West Virginia have passed improved born-alive laws. Explore this interactive map to see which states codify infant protections: frc.org/prolifemaps.

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins released the following statement:

"There's a word for intentionally ending the life of a baby that has left his or her mother's womb: infanticide. Infanticide will never be morally acceptable or excusable, regardless of what one may think about abortion itself. Now the unthinkable has become reality?elected officials are supporting infanticide.   

"President Biden's sweeping offers of unity continue to fall flat as House Democrats stonewall even the smallest protections for babies born alive. Last Congress alone, Speaker Nancy Pelosi denied 80 unanimous consent requests to vote on this bill and Democrat leaders have signaled similar opposition this Congress. This opposition blocks a bill that would simply require the same comfort and care to an infant who survives an abortion as any other infant who is born. Meanwhile, they cram through an agenda to expand abortion and force taxpayers to pay for it. The radicalization of the Democratic party is stunning. 

"Family Research Council calls on House Members to sign Rep. Kat Cammack's discharge petition so that infants born alive will be fully protected by federal law.  I additionally thank Minority Whip Steve Scalise and Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) for their courage and persistence to demand a vote on the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. The American people stand ready to hold members of Congress accountable for their votes," concluded Perkins.

Connor Semelsberger, Director of Federal Affairs for Life and Human Dignity at Family Research Council, added, "The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act is needed now more then ever. This effort to force House leadership to hold a vote on this bill comes at a time when FRC has tracked down at least 203 cases of infants surviving an abortion from the nine states that require reporting on abortion survivors."

To read more on Born-Alive Abortion Survivors, visit: frc.org/bornalive.

SOURCE Family Research Council