Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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Mrs. WAGNER. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of this motion to recommit to protect newborn babies who survive abortions.

Congress has an opportunity to ensure that no baby is denied lifesaving care simply because he or she is allegedly unwanted. We can and we must act.

But Democratic leadership has refused to put my lifesaving legislation, the Born-Alive Survivors Protection Act, on the floor 80 times this Congress. I am grateful that the U.S. Senate voted on the born-alive bill this week and the House must follow suit.

Our constituents must know where we stand. Over 70 percent of Americans who identify as Democrats support this legislation, but their Representatives ignore their voices.

We have learned from medical professionals, including former abortion providers, just how essential born-alive protections are. It breaks my heart to find that we must defend lifesaving care for newborn babies.

This is an incredibly urgent moment for our Nation, Madam Speaker. Over the course of the past year, radical legislators from New York to Illinois to Virginia have moved to strip protections for babies who survive abortions.

I am appalled and saddened that there are prominent American politicians who want to deny babies lifesaving medical care. Thankfully, a similar born-alive bill in Missouri recently advanced just last week, a sign there is broad support for this measure.

Denying lifesaving medical care to America's infants is a violation of our Constitution and an egregious offense against basic human dignity.

Supporting this motion to recommit--which, I will say, the National Right to Life, Susan B. Anthony List, March for Life, Family Research Council, and Concerned Women for America, all are key voting--is the simplest choice any Member of Congress can make.

Do you support babies receiving lifesaving care after they are born, or would you deny these innocent children that care and allow them to be discarded and left to die?

The tragedy of infanticide across our country requires serious and effective legal safeguards, and I thank those who fight on behalf of the most vulnerable who cannot protect themselves.

I implore my colleagues to support this motion to recommit and ensure that no baby is denied lifesaving care.

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