Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 5, I call up the bill (H.R. 26) to amend title 18, United States Code, 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, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

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Mr. JORDAN. 26.

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Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 26, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. In simple terms: Life is precious, life is sacred, all life, including unborn children, but that is not what this legislation is about.

This legislation is about those kids who are born alive making sure they get protected. For over 40 years, the decision in Roe v. Wade, as Justice Alito has stated, inflamed debate and deepened division over the issue of abortion in this country.

We have seen that play out over the last year, but what should be undisputed is the care of a child who is born alive after an attempted abortion.

Unfortunately, as evidenced by comments from prominent Democrats, not everyone believes that a child born alive should be protected.

We all know in 2019, then-Governor Northam of the State of Virginia stated this: The infant would be delivered, the infant would be kept comfortable, the infant would be resuscitated if that is what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.

Think about that. It is not just anybody saying that. It is the Governor of one of our largest States. The cavalier attitude he displayed toward human life is just wrong.

H.R. 26 would require healthcare practitioners to give the same level of care to a child born alive after an abortion or an attempted abortion as the child at that same gestational age. Work to save the kid's life, work to help that newborn. It would also require the immediate transfer of the surviving infant to a hospital.

This legislation requires healthcare practitioners or other employees to report any violations of this provision to State or Federal law enforcement for criminal prosecution.

In addition, H.R. 26 provides the mother of an abortion survivor with a civil right of action against the healthcare practitioner who fails to provide the required level of care.

It is simple. Infants born alive following an abortion are kids. They are children. All newborns deserve the same level of care.

In the Declaration of Independence, our Founding Fathers declared that it was life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that are the unalienable rights bestowed on us by our Creator.

Congress has a duty to protect these fundamental rights. This should be an easy vote for all Members.

I thank my colleagues, Representatives Ann Wagner and Kat Cammack, for their diligent work on this legislation, and I urge all Members to support it.

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Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I point out this bill has passed multiple times in previous Congresses, the exact same language, and it has passed with bipartisan support.

Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from the State of Missouri (Mrs. Wagner), the sponsor of the legislation who has worked tirelessly on this good piece of legislation.

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Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I would point out, the minority leader said their position is Roe v. Wade. Their position is real simple and it is real radical. Their position is you should be able to take the life of an unborn child right up until their birthday, and then as Governor Northam has said, even after their birthday. That is what this bill seeks to stop and to make sure that it doesn't happen.

That is as radical as you can get, taking the life of unborn children right up to their birth day. And then, as Governor Northam pointed out, even after that. We want to make sure that ``even after that'' part never happens because we believe life is precious and life is sacred.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Cammack), one of the cosponsors of this legislation.

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Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Van Orden).

Mr. VAN ORDEN. Madam Speaker, I was a corpsman, that is a combat medic, in the Navy SEAL teams for over 20 years, and I would like to give you a different perspective.

If I were to encounter an enemy combatant on the battlefield who was wounded, which I have, I was obligated by international law to render medical care to that enemy combatant to the best of my ability, up to and including to the detriment of my own troops, or I would be subject to prosecution.

I find it absurd, I find it unconscionable that this would be a matter of discussion in this body that we would not render medical aid to the most innocent amongst us, an unborn child that is born alive after the most traumatic circumstances possible.

Madam Speaker, I would implore my Democratic colleagues to remember that this is not about a woman's access to abortion. This is about the sanctity of life and the basic dignity of a human child.

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Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Burchett), my friend.

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Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis).

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Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Miller-Meeks).

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Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise).

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Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Aderholt).

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Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Houchin) for her first speech on the House floor.

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Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) a longtime champion of the pro-life cause.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend for yielding, and I thank Ann Wagner for authoring this important legislation.

Madam Speaker, in a Florida abortion clinic, Sycloria Williams delivered a live baby girl at 23 weeks. The clinic owner took the baby, who was gasping for air, cut her umbilical cord, threw her into a biohazard bag, and put the bag in the trash.

Heartbroken, Ms. Williams later had a funeral for her baby girl, who she named Shanice. CNN has reported since that Ms. Williams suffers PTSD from that ordeal.

Madam Speaker, why are these live births from abortion little known? Dr. Willard Cates, former head of the Centers for Disease Control's abortion surveillance unit, said several years ago live births are little known because organized medicine, from fear of public clamor and legal action, treats them more as an embarrassment to be hushed up than a problem to be solved. ``It is like turning yourself in to the IRS for an audit,'' he went on. ``What is there to gain? The tendency is not to report because there are only negative incentives.''

Madam Speaker, Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell, one of the few who got caught--and it was under a State law, not Federal, and many States don't have such laws--was convicted of murder for killing children who were born alive after attempted abortions.

The grand jury report described it in this way: ``Gosnell had a simple solution for the unwanted babies he delivered: He killed them. He didn't call it that. He called it `ensuring fetal demise.' The way he ensured fetal demise was by sticking scissors into the back of the baby's neck and cutting the spinal cord. He called that `snipping.'''

The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act seeks to end or at least mitigate this egregious child abuse by requiring that a healthcare provider must exercise the same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life of that child as they would a child of similar age.

The bill empowers the woman upon whom the abortion is performed to obtain appropriate civil relief. I am sure had it been available then, Ms. Williams would have done that, as well.

Madam Speaker, this is humane, pro-child, human rights legislation.

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Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Good), my friend.

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Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Johnson).

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Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs. Miller).

Mrs. MILLER of West Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.

All life is sacred. Defending innocent lives should not be a policy issue.

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.

The previous Democrat-controlled House has refused to vote on this bill. Today, a Republican-led majority keeps our commitment to America by voting on legislation that upholds the sanctity of life.

I urge the passage of this bill on the House floor.

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Mr. JORDAN. I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx).

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Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from the great State of Virginia (Mr. Cline).

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Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

I will say that the document that launched this experiment in freedom we call America, the Declaration of Independence, talks about all are created equal, endowed by our creator with life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I think it is interesting the order in which the Founders placed the rights they chose to mention: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

You can't pursue happiness; you can't chase down your goals and dreams if you first don't have freedom. You don't have freedom and true liberty unless government protects your most fundamental right: your right to live, your right to breathe, your right to life.

That is what this legislation is about, protecting the most innocent, the most vulnerable's right to life.

I urge a ``yes'' vote and hope this thing passes unanimously. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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