Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) is on her way out of Congress, and she’s taking some parting shots against a Democratic establishment that’s increasingly pro-abortion.
She introduced the amendment — H.R. 8923 — on Wednesday. If approved, it would rework the U.S. criminal code “to ensure a health care practitioner exercises the proper degree of care in the case of a child who survives an abortion or attempted abortion.”
Similar to Republican bills rejected by progressives in the past, Gabbard’s proposal would apply criminal penalties to health care workers who refuse to provide necessary, lifesaving medical care to infants who survive botched abortions.
“If House Democrats elected in the 2018 ‘blue wave’ had been allowed to support humane legislation like the born-alive bill, the party wouldn’t have fared so disastrously in 2020 House races,” Jacob Lupfer, a political consultant who works with candidates and organizations outside the mainstream of the two major political parties, told Faithwire.
He went on to say progressives “should ask why a Democratic member of Congress can only advocate for sensible, popular abortion policies in the final days of her term in office.”
“This is why Republicans win,” Lupfer continued. “Literally no one other than abortion interest-group elites thinks doctors should kill babies after botched abortions.”
Democratic lawmakers have repeatedly rejected born-alive bills presented by Republicans, arguing it is unnecessary because of the Born Alive Protection Act of 2002, which guarantees care for babies who survive abortion attempts. However, as many Republicans have noted, the 2002 bill does not include legal penalties for doctors who fail to care for surviving babies.
President Donald Trump has expressed support for born-alive legislation, which Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Ark.) has presented to Congress. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has called born-alive bills “extreme.”
Lupfer argued that, if Democrats took a “moderate” position on abortion issues, “the Republican Party wouldn’t have a prayer.”