Abortion survivors slam Dems for blocking 'Born-Alive' abortion bill: 'We are not treated as human beings'
"The fact that Democrats continue to block this and vote against it, the message is heard loud and clear by people like me," Melissa Ohden, founder of the Abortion Survivors Network, told Fox News Digital. "We are not treated as human beings. We are simply treated as pawns in their game of political chess."
Priscilla Hurley, another abortion survivor who once worked in the abortion industry, told Fox News Digital she was disappointed but not surprised that Democrats had rejected the bill.
"Under the 'Born-Alive' bill, doctors that perform these late-term abortions can't get away with it anymore if the baby is born alive," Hurley said. "They have to provide care, and the people around them have to report it if they don't. There's that accountability factor that the abortion industry in general does not have. So it's not surprising that those who are in bed with the abortion industry vote the way they do."
Senate Democrats blocked the "Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act" from advancing in the chamber on Wednesday. The measure would require healthcare practitioners to seek to save the life of a baby born during an attempted abortion, and ensure that the infant is hospitalized.
Infants who survive attempted abortions are already afforded equal protection under a federal law passed in 2002. However, according to the pro-life Charles Lozier Institute, the federal law "contains no requirements that abortion survivors be provided with appropriate care or transferred to a hospital, and there is no enforcement mechanism if the law is violated."
Under the "Born-Alive" bill, a healthcare practitioner who fails to provide the required degree of care for a child who survives an abortion, or one who fails to report the lack of care given, is subject to criminal penalties, from a fine to up to five years in prison.
Democrats have argued that the bill is redundant, given existing laws against infanticide and murder, and could imperil the lives of women seeking late-term abortions due to medical emergencies while unfairly penalizing doctors.
The abortion survivors disagree, calling these protections a human rights issue that shouldn't be politicized.
Ohden, who survived after an attempted saline infusion abortion in 1977, has supported the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act as it has been proposed by Republicans over the past decade. The bill has repeatedly been blocked by Democrats in previous congresses.
She was disgusted by a social media post by Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., this week calling the Republicans' claims about the bill "s—t that ain't true."
"Doctors are already required to provide appropriate medical care by law. Republicans are trying to get between women and their doctors," Schumer posted on X, alongside a video criticizing the bill.
Ohden found Schumer's and others' comments "disrespectful" and "dehumanizing" toward those who've survived abortions.
"It's very clear that they want us to stay silent. They want us to feel ashamed and isolated," she said.
Hurley added, "I just pray that their eyes would open to the truth."
"I don't think they really take the time, honestly, to talk to people and listen to the facts because they just are protecting the doctors. They're calling it women's healthcare, which it doesn't have anything to do with that. It has to do with human rights," she continued.
Ohden believes there is not enough awareness about the existence of abortion survivors. Her group, the Abortion Survivors Network, has over 900 members, and she personally believes the actual number of abortion survivors is much higher with the prevalence of chemical abortion today. She pointed to a recent study in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, which found 11% of 2nd trimester abortions resulted in live births.
Both abortion survivors called the measure "commonsense legislation" that ensures babies who survive an abortion are afforded the same level of medical care as any other baby born at that gestation.
On Thursday, House Republicans passed their own version of the "Born-Alive" bill. All but one Democrat voted against it.
Bill co-sponsor Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., celebrated its passage.
"This should not be a controversial issue, but rest assured we will keep up the fight in Congress to make sure all babies, born and unborn, are treated like the miracles of life we know they are," she said in a statement.
"This isn't a partisan issue, but a moral one," House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said. "With this legislation, House Republicans are standing up for our most vulnerable Americans and defending the sanctity of life. It's disgraceful that Senate Democrats voted in lockstep to block consideration of this lifesaving bill."
Sen. Schumer's office did not return a request for comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
34 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Race to define Trump's legislation to voters is next political test
Republicans waged a mighty, messy and ultimately successful campaign to push their One Big Beautiful Bill Act to President Donald Trump's desk for a Fourth of July signing ceremony. The next campaign — the political battle to define and defend it — will challenge Republicans just as much.
New York Times
36 minutes ago
- New York Times
Can Democrats Find Their Way on Immigration?
The Democrats onstage saw themselves as morally courageous. American voters, it turned out, saw a group of politicians hopelessly out of touch. Standing side by side at a primary debate in June 2019, nine of the party's candidates for president were asked to raise their hand if they wanted to decriminalize illegal border crossings. Only one of them held still. Six years later, the party remains haunted by that tableau. It stands both as a vivid demonstration of a leftward policy shift on immigration that many prominent Democratic lawmakers and strategists now say they deeply regret, and as a marker of how sharply the country was moving in the other direction. Last year, 55 percent of Americans told Gallup that they supported a decrease in immigration, nearly twice as many as in 2020, and the first time since 2005 that a majority had said so. The embrace of a more punitive approach to illegal immigration includes not only white voters but also working-class Latinos, whose support Democrats had long courted with liberal border policies. 'When you have the most Latino district in the country outside of Puerto Rico vote for Trump, that should be a wake-up call for the Democratic Party,' said Representative Vicente Gonzalez of Texas, who saw Mr. Trump win every county in his district along the border with Mexico. 'This is a Democratic district that's been blue for over a century.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Steve Bannon Attacks Elon Musk Over New Party: 'You're Not American'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Steve Bannon has attacked Elon Musk over his plans to create a new political party. Speaking on his War Room podcast, President Donald Trump's former chief strategist called out the South African-born billionaire, who has U.S. citizenship, and said he was "not American." The Context On Saturday, Musk—who supported Trump during the 2024 presidential election campaign and who the president put in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency before the pair fell out—announced he was forming a new political party called the "America Party." He had previously posted a poll on July 4, asking respondents if they wanted a new party, with 65.4 percent saying that they supported the idea. Steve Bannon is seen at the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, on February 21, 2025. Steve Bannon is seen at the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, on February 21, 2025. Credit: Annabelle Gordon/CNP Photo by: Annabelle Gordon - CNP/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images On X, formerly Twitter, he wrote: "Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom," citing the poll. As a foreign-born U.S. citizen, Musk cannot run for president but he can support third-party candidates, who can put themselves on the ballot in every state, if they have enough signatures to support their bid. It is rare for third-party candidates to break through significantly. What To Know On his podcast on Friday Bannon said: "The foul, the buffoon. Elmo the Mook, formerly known as Elon Musk, Elmo the Mook. He's today, in another smear, and this—only a foreigner could do this—think about it, he's got up on, he's got up on Twitter right now, a poll about starting an America Party, a non-American starting an America Party." He added: "No, brother, you're not an American. You're a South African. We take enough time and prove the facts of that, you should be deported because it's a crime of what you did—among many." What People Are Saying Responding to a clip of Bannon's comments that was posted on X, Musk wrote: "The fat, drunken slob called Bannon will go back to prison and this time for a long time. He has a lifetime of crime to pay for." Dafydd Townley, an American politics expert at the University of Portsmouth, previously told Newsweek that "third parties do not tend to have a long lifetime in American politics," adding that Musk's new party "would likely split the Republican vote, potentially resulting in a Democrat-dominated House of Representatives, at least in the short term, due to the winner-takes-all electoral system." What Happens Next It is not known how the party will be structured and what other figures will be involved in it. Whether it manages to break through the two-party system and enjoy success remains to be seen.
