Vicky Arias, FISM News
The battle to protect not-yet-born babies, and even babies already born alive, continues across the nation.
The states of South Carolina and Kentucky are fighting to keep pro-life measures alive in their states, as Virginia Democrats block legislation that would’ve protected infants born alive after failed abortion attempts.
SOUTH CAROLINA
In South Carolina, House Republicans are attempting to restrict abortion procedures in the state. The chamber on Wednesday voted in favor of a ban on abortion starting at conception with exceptions made only in cases of rape, incest, fetal anomalies which would be fatal to the infant, and to save the life of the mother in extenuating circumstances.
The South Carolina near-total ban comes one week after a separate measure was passed by the state’s Senate Republicans. That legislation bans abortion only after a fetal heartbeat is detected.
Republicans in the state are facing a battle between themselves since they can’t come to a mutual understanding of when life begins.
The Republican divide between the South Carolina House and Senate has proven to be a roadblock to getting the measures across the governor’s desk so that they may be signed into law. Republicans in both chambers must come to an agreement on the issue in order to further life-saving measures for the unborn.
KENTUCKY
In Kentucky, the state’s Supreme Court on Thursday ruled to allow abortion restrictions to remain in place. Opponents had challenged Kentucky’s near-total ban on abortion arguing that “abortion restrictions are causing ‘irreparable harm’ to patients who are undergoing the ‘pain and trauma’ of being forced to bear children they don’t want or having to search for ways to travel out of state for the procedure,” according to Politico.
Apparently, the ‘irreparable harm’ of the unborn wasn’t a concern for those challenging the restrictions.
VIRGINIA
Perhaps the most stunning battle facing pro-life advocates is coming out of Virginia. Democrats recently blocked legislation in the state that called for the protection of babies who survive abortions attempts.
The ‘born alive’ bill would’ve obligated “every health care provider licensed by the Board of Medicine who attempts to terminate a pregnancy to … exercise the same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and health of a human infant who has been born alive following” an abortion procedure. The measure also states that “a health care provider who fails to comply with the requirements of the bill is guilty of a Class 4 felony.”
The bill passed the state House but failed in the Senate’s Education and Health Committee. According to the Daily Caller, “every Democrat voted against the bill.”
Southern Regional Director for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, Caitlin Connors, told the Daily Caller that Democrats’ obstruction of the bill was “baffling.”
“It is egregious that the Senate Democrats in Virginia would refuse medical care to babies who are born,” Connors said.
In this case, we’re not even talking about abortion. We’re talking about babies who were attempted to be aborted but lived, and they deserve the same medical care that any other child would be given at that gestational age … So it’s baffling to me that we can’t agree that they should be able to receive the same medical care.