The Senate voted on the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act yesterday, Monday, February 25. The Act, sponsored by Sen. Ben Sasse (R., Neb.) failed to receive the required 60 votes needed to overcome a legislative filibuster. Other than democratic senators from Alabama, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, the vote followed a strict party line with a couple of Republican abstainers.

Most of the commentary I’ve read on the vote has repeated the primary language all of the bill. “Any health care practitioner present at the time the child is born alive shall exercise the same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and health of the child as a reasonably diligent and conscientious health care practitioner would render to any other child born alive at the same gestational age.” Expressed in this way, the language and intention of the Bill seem to me a no-brainer. Surely no one would be in favor of allowing a baby to die. However, when I first read the Bill last week, I thought it would have difficulty getting through Congress because it clearly identifies the botched abortion baby as a child – a person. This bill is clearly a threat to the pro-abortion industry. The paragraph below highlights some of the additional language in the bill.

“in the case of a child who survives an abortion or attempted abortion” “If an abortion results in the live birth of an infant, the infant is a legal person for all purposes under the laws of the United States, and entitled to all the protections of such laws” “the protection of the law that would arise for any newborn, or for any person” “results in a child born alive” “Any health care practitioner present at the time the child is born alive shall” “any other child born alive at the same gestational age” “the child born alive is immediately transported and admitted to a hospital” “Whoever intentionally performs or attempts to perform an overt act that kills a child born alive described under subsection (a), shall be punished as under section 1111 of this title for intentionally killing or attempting to kill a human being” “The mother of a child born alive described under subsection (a) may not be prosecuted” “If a child is born alive and there is a violation of subsection (a), the woman upon whom the abortion was performed or attempted may, in a civil action against any person who committed the violation, obtain appropriate relief” “The term ‘abortion’ means the use or prescription of any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance or device— ‘‘(A) to intentionally kill the unborn child of a woman known to be pregnant”

S.311 clearly identifies the unborn baby as a person. US abortion laws are more likely to change when United States’ citizens accept unborn children as children. The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act makes the personhood of the fetus crystal clear.