Letter -to-the-editor posted in the Aberdeen News
By State Director, Linda Schauer
Good legislation sponsored by Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, prohibits further research testing on cats and provides adoption for current research subjects. The HEART bill, sponsored by presidential hopeful Sen. Kamala Harris, D-California, would criminalize dog fighting and find forever homes for survivors.
I applaud these senators for their concern for our feline and canine friends. Pets are great companions and should be well-treated. However, when those who bring bills that protect cats and dogs fail to provide humane treatment for human babies who survive an abortion, it is unconscionable and the essence of hypocrisy.
After New York erased all protections for born-alive babies, and the governor of Virginia endorsed infanticide, Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Nebraska, introduced the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. Sadly, the bill failed to receive the necessary 60 votes with 44 Democrat senators opposing the protection of babies who survive abortion or attempted abortion. The Born Alive bill is experiencing the same fate in the Democrat-controlled House with Speaker Nancy Pelosi refusing to allow a vote.
Recent polling shows that 82 percent of Americans, including 77 percent of pro-choice Americans, support protection for children born alive after an attempted abortion. Clearly, most Americans believe babies born alive after an attempted abortion are now patients worthy of medical care.
The Born Alive bill would require abortionists to provide care to a child born alive and includes penalties for the practitioner. It also shields birth mothers from prosecution and grants them the right to take civil action against a health care professional who fails to provide this care. Additionally, any infant born alive after an attempted abortion must be immediately admitted to a hospital.
Born Alive is about stopping infanticide, not restricting or regulating abortion. Our humanity demands that born and unborn children deserve protection.
Linda D. Schauer
Leola
State director, Concerned Women for America of South Dakota
https://www.aberdeennews.com/news/opinion/letters/letter-born-alive-babies-deserve-protection/article_0b052af7-d2be-5982-a505-1fdaa0f11cc1.html