Currently, the criminal president has declared a national emergency over poor, brown people at the border, scientists say climate change is the real threat to the safety of the planet and drastic measures need to be taken, and 100 people are killed by guns every day, yet the Senate voted today on yet another bill to restrict abortion access.
BREAKING: The Senate has voted down Senator Sasse's extremist, anti-science bill that attempted to inflict medically unnecessary restrictions on clinics, spread dangerous anti-choice lies, and threaten healthcare providers with jail time. #ProtectProviders pic.twitter.com/HXtttLH2qN
— NARAL (@NARAL) February 25, 2019
The legislation was written by Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) and needed 60 votes to pass. It was shot down by most Democrats as well as several Republican Senators. Democrats Doug Jones (AL), Joe Manchin (WV), and Bob Casey, Jr. (PA) voted to advance the bill, but the vote fell short at 53-44.
RELEASE:
The Senate will vote today on Sen. Sasse's bill vilifying abortion later in pregnancy and abortion providers as well as interfering with the patient-provider relationship.
Read our statement from PRH Board Member @DrKBrandi: https://t.co/70wej0ZZMS
— PRH (@prhdocs) February 25, 2019
The bill would have punished doctors who are found to have failed to properly treat babies who survive third-trimester abortions. While Sasse and other Republicans insisted that the bill was solely meant to protect newborn babies, critics of the bill said that supporters in the Senate had so misrepresented facts that they could not support it. Most found it to be a solution without a problem.
Sasse said on the Senate floor Monday. “It is too blunt for many people in this body, but frankly, that is what we’re talking about here today. . . .https://t.co/5v0Tf1Rimj
— Tim W. Poor (@twp459) February 26, 2019
The Washington Post reports that:
‘Opponents of the bill argued that it represented an unjustified attack on abortion rights, preventing doctors from exercising their best medical judgment and exposing them to possible lawsuits or prosecution.’
Sen. Tim Kaine added his reasons for voting against the bill.
‘Congress reaffirmed that fact with its passage of the bipartisan Born-Alive Infants Protection Act in 2002. I support that law, which is still in effect. There is no need for additional federal legislation on this topic.’
McConnell filed cloture to proceed to late-term abortion bill by Sasse setting up procedural vote on Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (S. 311) when Senate returns from its weeklong President's Day break.
— Craig Caplan (@CraigCaplan) February 14, 2019
Featured image via Flickr by Shaw Girl under a Creative Commons license
