Catholic bishops’ pro-life chair applauds passage of ‘Born-Alive’ Act

Washington D.C., Jan 12, 2023 / 08:56 am

The Catholic bishops’ pro-life chair is applauding the passage of the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“We commend the House of Representatives for passing legislation to protect innocent children from infanticide and urge the Senate to follow suit,” Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, said in a statement Wednesday. “Babies who are born alive during the process of an abortion deserve compassionate care and medical attention — just the same as any other newborn baby.” 

Members voted 220 to 210 on Wednesday to pass the act, also known as H.R. 26. All 210 who voted against it were Democrats. Only one Democrat voted “yes” to the bill: Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas. Another Democrat, Rep. Vicente Gonzalez of Texas, voted “present.”

The act requires medical care for babies who survive attempted abortions. It promises “to prohibit a health care practitioner from failing to exercise the proper degree of care in the case of a child who survives an abortion or attempted abortion.”

The act now goes to the Democrat-controlled Senate, where it is unlikely to advance.

Ahead of the House vote, Burbidge, the chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Pro-Life Activities, sent a letter to members of the House urging support for the bill. The act has the support of the U.S. Catholic bishops.

The Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 2002, a law passed with bipartisan support, established that a “person,” “human being,” “child,” and “individual” includes infants born alive.