Republicans push abortion restrictions as March for Life rally comes to Washington D.C.

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - Anti-abortion supporters descend upon the nation’s Capitol this Friday for the March For Life. The rally comes as the issue of abortion rights is once again taking center stage in Congress as Republicans gain control of the House.

Days before the rally, the House GOP advanced a measure called the “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.” The bill passed with full Republican support. All Democrats except for two Texas lawmakers voted against the measure. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) voted ‘yea’ with Republicans. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas) voted ‘present.’

“We will continue to hold the line and protect the most vulnerable among us,” said Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.); earlier, she announced the Republican House would take up the bill as one of their first acts in 2023.

Supporters believe the ‘Born Alive Bill’ will protect infants born alive after an attempted abortion. It requires that they receive medical care. It also threatens fines and five years imprisonment for healthcare providers who don’t comply.

But, abortion rights groups such as Planned Parenthood Federation of America call the bill ‘deceptive’ and a ‘scare tactic.’

Rep. Carol Miller (R-W.Va.), who voted for the bill, said, “this legislation protects babies who are not only born, but who are then left without care from an attempted abortion. A baby who survives an abortion should receive the same medical attention that any other premature baby would. These precious souls are given another chance at life. It is unacceptable that there are no criminal charges for those who want to take their life away. The people who allow babies to be killed after birth must be fully prosecuted. Let’s be clear, killing a baby who is born alive regardless of an attempted abortion is murder.”

Angela Vasquez-Giroux of NARAL Pro-Choice America, however, said “the important thing about this bill is that it’s addressing a problem that doesn’t exist.” She believes it stands in the way of real emergencies. Vasquez-Giroux added, “what they’re doing is attempting to legislate a very complicated rare situation where decisions should be made by the patient and not by lawmakers who frankly don’t understand the basics of pregnancy or reproductive healthcare.”

Jacqueline Ayers of Planned Parenthood Federation of America added, “let’s be clear, doctors are already required to provide appropriate medical care by law. This is not how medical care works. It’s wrong, irresponsible, and dangerous to suggest otherwise.”

Ayers believes the bill is “yet another attempt by anti-abortion politicians to spread misinformation as a means to their warped political end: to ban safe and legal abortion.”

The ‘Born Alive’ bill is not expected to advance through the Democratic-controlled Senate.

A Pew Research Center poll taken last year shows 62% of adults believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

2023 would have marked 50 years since Roe versus Wade became the law of the land. Ballot measures to restrict abortion in several states failed in 2022.

The 2022 Supreme Court decision overturned that constitutional right, and returned the discussion back to the states.

President Joe Biden has called on lawmakers to codify Roe versus Wade.

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