U.S. Senate Democrats block Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act as Illinois Democrats push radical abortion agenda; ILGOP Chairman Tim Schneider responds

“In the not too distant past, then-Congressman Dick Durbin advocated to place limits on abortion and overturn Roe v. Wade. Now, Senator Dick Durbin is voting to deny medical care to infants who survive abortions, allowing infanticide. This is how radical the Democratic Party has become on the issue of abortion. Democrats consistently say they ‘fight’ to protect the most vulnerable, but what is more vulnerable than a newborn baby? I think we all should be able to agree that a living, breathing child recently born deserves to do just that – live.” – Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider

Yesterday, U.S. Senate Democrats blocked a vote on the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (S. 311). The legislation would have mandated that doctors provide life-saving medical care to infants who survive abortions at the end of a pregnancy. This legislation was introduced by Republican Senator Ben Sasse after the Democratic Governor of Virginia endorsed post-birth abortions and a Democratic lawmaker from Virginia pushed legislation that would authorize a mother to request an abortion during birth.

Illinois Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth opposed the legislation. Support for the legislation was bipartisan – Democratic Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Doug Jones or Alabama joined Republicans in supporting the legislation. Only Democrats opposed the legislation.

When he was a Congressman, Dick Durbin opposed abortion and said the “right to an abortion is not guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution” and that “Roe v. Wade should be reversed” by the U.S. Supreme Court. Read more about Durbin’s former pro-life position on abortion here.

Now, Illinois Democrats in Springfield, at the behest of Governor J.B. Pritzker, are pushing legislation to remove all late-term limits on abortion, eliminate statutes protecting children who are born after an unsuccessful abortion, and mandate that all private insurance plans cover abortion procedures.

According to Gallup polling from last year, Americans are evenly split in defining themselves by the “pro-life” and “pro-choice” labels. When broken down by trimester, a majority of Americans generally oppose abortions performed in the second and third trimesters of a pregnancy.

And according to a study performed by the pro-choice Guttmacher Institute, “most women seeking later terminations are not doing so for reasons of fetal anomaly or life endangerment.”

This is how radical the Democratic Party has become on the issue of abortion. Democrats are pushing an abortion agenda most Americans disagree with.

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