As you are probably aware, S. 2311, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, failed to overcome a filibuster in the U.S. Senate last week. The vote was 51-46. Sixty votes were needed to overcome the filibuster.
This simple, straightforward bill would prohibit abortions after 20 weeks past conception when science suggests babies start to feel pain. Twenty weeks is five months. That is a significant time in development.
In this Baby Center video, you can get an idea of what is happening inside the womb at this point. You have a fully developed baby that sucks his or her thumb, makes faces, and can hear his or her mother’s voice. As the pregnancy video suggests, between 15 to 20 weeks, “your baby may be able to hear your heartbeat and voice. So, read aloud or sing a happy tune.”
But, believe it or not, many in the U.S. Senate believe these babies should also be able to be killed, if unwanted, regardless of the pain they might feel. Their radicalism is so extreme it should not be tolerated in a civilized society.
So, how did your senator vote? Did he or she support or oppose protecting innocent babies? Here is the list by states in alphabetical order:
| Alabama:
Jones (D-AL), Opposed Shelby (R-AL), Supported
Alaska: Murkowski (R-AK), Opposed Sullivan (R-AK), Supported
Arizona: Flake (R-AZ), Supported McCain (R-AZ), Did not vote
Arkansas: Boozman (R-AR), Supported Cotton (R-AR), Supported
California: Feinstein (D-CA), Opposed Harris (D-CA), Opposed
Colorado: Bennet (D-CO), Opposed Gardner (R-CO), Supported
Connecticut: Blumenthal (D-CT), Opposed Murphy (D-CT), Opposed
Delaware: Carper (D-DE), Opposed Coons (D-DE), Opposed
Florida: Nelson (D-FL), Did not vote Rubio (R-FL), Supported
Georgia: Isakson (R-GA), Supported Perdue (R-GA), Supported
Hawaii: Hirono (D-HI), Opposed Schatz (D-HI), Opposed
Idaho: Crapo (R-ID), Supported Risch (R-ID), Supported
Illinois: Duckworth (D-IL), Opposed Durbin (D-IL), Opposed
Indiana: Donnelly (D-IN), Supported Young (R-IN), Supported
Iowa: Ernst (R-IA), Supported Grassley (R-IA), Supported
Kansas: Moran (R-KS), Supported Roberts (R-KS), Supported
Kentucky: McConnell (R-KY), Supported Paul (R-KY), Supported
Louisiana: Cassidy (R-LA), Supported Kennedy (R-LA), Supported
Maine: Collins (R-ME), Opposed King (I-ME), Opposed
Maryland: Cardin (D-MD), Opposed Van Hollen (D-MD), Opposed
Massachusetts: Markey (D-MA), Opposed Warren (D-MA), Opposed
Michigan: Peters (D-MI), Opposed Stabenow (D-MI), Opposed
Minnesota: Klobuchar (D-MN), Opposed Smith (D-MN), Opposed
Mississippi: Cochran (R-MS), Supported Wicker (R-MS), Supported
Montana: Daines (R-MT), Supported Tester (D-MT), Opposed |
Missouri:
Blunt (R-MO), Supported McCaskill (D-MO), Opposed
Nebraska: Fischer (R-NE), Supported Sasse (R-NE), Supported
Nevada: Cortez Masto (D-NV), Opposed Heller (R-NV), Supported
New Hampshire: Hassan (D-NH), Opposed Shaheen (D-NH), Opposed
New Jersey: Booker (D-NJ), Opposed Menendez (D-NJ), Opposed
New Mexico: Heinrich (D-NM), Opposed Udall (D-NM), Opposed
New York: Gillibrand (D-NY), Opposed Schumer (D-NY), Opposed
North Carolina: Burr (R-NC), Supported Tillis (R-NC), Supported
North Dakota: Heitkamp (D-ND), Opposed Hoeven (R-ND), Supported
Ohio: Brown (D-OH), Opposed Portman (R-OH), Supported
Oklahoma: Inhofe (R-OK), Supported Lankford (R-OK), Supported
Oregon: Merkley (D-OR), Opposed Wyden (D-OR), Opposed
Pennsylvania: Casey (D-PA), Supported Toomey (R-PA), Supported
Rhode Island: Reed (D-RI), Opposed Whitehouse (D-RI), Opposed
South Carolina: Graham (R-SC), Supported Scott (R-SC), Supported
South Dakota: Rounds (R-SD), Supported Thune (R-SD), Supported
Tennessee: Alexander (R-TN), Supported Corker (R-TN), Supported
Texas: Cornyn (R-TX), Supported Cruz (R-TX), Supported
Utah: Hatch (R-UT), Supported Lee (R-UT), Supported
Vermont: Leahy (D-VT), Opposed Sanders (I-VT), Opposed
Virginia: Kaine (D-VA), Opposed Warner (D-VA), Opposed
Washington: Cantwell (D-WA), Opposed Murray (D-WA), Opposed
West Virginia: Capito (R-WV), Supported Manchin (D-WV), Supported
Wisconsin: Baldwin (D-WI), Did not vote Johnson (R-WI), Supported
Wyoming: Barrasso (R-WY), Supported Enzi (R-WY), Supported |
If your senators supported this commonsense legislation, they should be commended. But if your senator is so radical that he or she cannot protect babies at five months of development, you should contact their office and ask at what point would they be willing to protect them. Would he or she protect them at 25 weeks? How about at 30? How about the day before they are born? How about a baby past its due date? Can it be terminated, without regard to the pain he or she might feel?
I know this sounds ridiculous, but these are legitimate questions in this day and age. The House of Representatives just voted on the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, and it passed by a vote of 241-183. Think about that, 183 of our representatives voted against protecting babies born alive after a failed abortion procedure.
—
Mario Diaz, Esq. is Concerned Women for America’s legal counsel. Follow him on Twitter @mariodiazesq.