In this photo taken April 23, 2015, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. speaks during an interview in her office on Capitol Hill.
The peaceful blanket of white snow belies the ugliness beneath in the state of Washington, where voters elected a senator who essentially supports infanticide.
Last week Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat from this state, was the lone voice against the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which would have required medical care for babies born alive during abortions.
She and her supporters would probably express outrage if anyone stood by and allowed a dog, cat, horse, deer, cougar, or seal to perish. But when it comes to human beings, letting a baby die is acceptable — even preferable — simply because the mother didn’t want it.
What about toddlers who live with moms and dads who don’t want them? Should we allow those children to die simply because they’re unloved?
I agree with Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa that it’s a sad day in America when Congress “can no longer unanimously condemn murder.”
Murray’s vote tops off a new year where we’ve seen New York pass a law that allows abortions up to the point of delivery. Virginia considered a law to allow third-trimester abortions up to the point of birth if only one instead of three doctors determines a mother’s mental or physical health is threatened. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat and pediatric neurologist, said if a baby is born alive, it would be delivered and “kept comfortable” while the doctor and family discussed whether to let it live. Vermont and Rhode Island are also considering legislation to ease restrictions on late-term abortions.
What kind of mixed-up world do we live in where people care more about a spotted owl or a marbled murrelet than a human baby?
Who’s next on the list of disposable human beings? Elderly people? Those with dementia? What about people with physical or mental disabilities?
If this disregard for human life sounds familiar, it’s because Nazi Dictator Adolf Hitler implemented just such slaughter of innocents.
Sen. Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican, introduced the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act to repudiate Northam’s “morally repugnant” remarks.
“I’m going to ask all 100 senators to come to the floor and be against infanticide,” Sasse said. “This shouldn’t be complicated.”
Only Murray voted no.
“We’re talking about killing a baby that’s been born,” Sasse said. “We’re not talking about some euphemism; we’re not talking about a clump of cells.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, will determine whether to force a roll call vote. Sasse said he will fight to require one. I hope he does. I’d like to know which other lawmakers in our nation’s capital support what amounts to infanticide.
A Montana Republican, Sen. Steve Daines, described Northam’s comments as showing a “callous disregard for human life” and “evil.”
I remember when Sen. Hillary Clinton, President Barack Obama, and other abortion defenders described the need to keep the procedure “safe, legal and rare.” Abortion isn’t rare — at least 54 million babies have been aborted since Roe v. Wade legalized the procedure in 1973. Now the lobby wants abortions allowed up to the point of birth and supports allowing babies born alive to die.
The measure introduced by Sasse was cosponsored by more than three dozen Republican senators.
“There should be no politics here that are right vs. left, or Republican vs. Democrat,” Sasse said. “This is the most basic thing you could be talking about.”
Since when did protection for babies divide along party lines? Have we reached the point where pro-choice has morphed into pro-infanticide — as long as that’s what the mother wants? Do Democrats truly favor allowing babies who survive abortions to simply die?
Murray’s supporters say a live birth seldom happens. Yet in Philadelphia, Kermit Gosnell was convicted of murdering three infants born alive during abortions.
What’s sad is that the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act is unlikely to pass in the House, which is now controlled by Democrats.
So much for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We’ve lost our moral compass when we allow a baby born alive to simply die without rendering medical care.
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Julie McDonald, a personal historian from Toledo, may be reached at memoirs@chapteroflife.com.
