Will Heitkamp Vote Against Bill to Protect Babies Surviving Abortions?

January 22, 2018 T. Arthur Mason National

It’s no secret that the U.S. Senate seat, currently occupied by Democratic incumbent Heidi Heitkamp, is a very important one to Republicans. And while the NDGOP – and ultimately her Republican opponent in the General Election – will have plenty of issues to hammer her on, there is one that could spell defeat for Heitkamp.

Last Friday, the U.S. House passed “The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act” (H.R. 4712) by a margin of 241-183. According to LifeNews.com:

“H.R. 4712 contains an explicit requirement that a baby born alive during an abortion must be afforded ‘the same degree’ of care that would apply ‘to any other child born alive at the same gestational age,’ including transportation to a hospital. This language does not dictate bona fide medical judgments nor require futile measures, but rather, requires that babies born alive during abortions are treated in the same manner as those who are spontaneously born prematurely.”

On the same day that H.R. 4712 passed, President Donald Trump spoke at a March for Life Rally in which he not only called for the U.S. Senate to pass the bill and send it to his desk to sign, but he also spoke in favor of ending late term abortions:

“For example, in the United States, it’s one of only seven countries to allow elective late-term abortions, along with China, North Korea, and others. Right now in a number of states, the laws allow a baby to be ripped from his or her mother’s womb in the ninth month. It is wrong. It has to change.”

In the days leading up to the 2012 election, Heitkamp actually expressed her opposition to late-term abortions:

“I do not support public funding of abortions, and believe that late term abortions should be illegal except when necessary to save the life of the mother.”

But then in September 2015, Senator Heitkamp flip-flopped and voted to filibuster a bill banning the practice. Unfortunately, such things appear to be the norm for North Dakota’s lone DC Democrat. Heitkamp has a 100% rating from the Planned Parenthood Action Fund and a 0% from the National Right to Life Committee.

Of the 241 votes supporting H.R. 4712 in the House, just six of them were Democrats.  If this bill comes before the Senate – which seems likely – will Heitkamp be willing to stray from her party in support of it?

The fact that 183 of America’s elected representatives voted in opposition to this bill is nothing less than despicable. What kind of person would oppose giving life-saving care to a newborn and holding accountable any medical personnel who would leave a baby to die? Oh, that’s right, the same monsters who think it’s okay to kill them in the womb.

Leading up to the House vote, one author wrote this:

“What is the goal of an abortion? Is it to end a pregnancy or kill a baby?

“This is not a trick question. While a completed abortion always ends a pregnancy, in a surprising number of cases, it does not always kill a child. In spite of an abortionist’s deadliest efforts, sometimes a baby escapes and emerges from the womb still living. What happens next to that child – who is now breathing air and moving his or her arms and legs – most clearly exposes the inhumanity of the abortion industry in America today.”

Senator Heitkamp’s record is bad enough already. But if given the opportunity, and she chooses to party herself with such inhumanity, then she deserves the harshest of scorn from North Dakota voters. Not only would she deserve failure in her bid to be re-elected, but she should then go down in the annals of North Dakota history as a disgrace to the office to which she was entrusted.

Sources:

  1. http://www.lifenews.com/2018/01/19/house-passes-pro-life-bill-protecting-babies-born-alive-after-botched-abortions/
  2. http://www.lifenews.com/2018/01/19/trump-tells-march-for-life-i-will-sign-bill-protecting-babies-born-alive-after-botched-abortions/
  3. http://www.inforum.com/content/heitkamp-mum-bergs-2007-abortion-bill-vote
  4. http://www.weeklystandard.com/north-dakotas-senator-heitkamp-wont-explain-flip-flop-on-late-term-abortion/article/1035131
  5. https://votesmart.org/candidate/41716/heidi-heitkamp?categoryId=2#.WmZz20xFxPb
  6. https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/115-2018/h36?utm_campaign=govtrack_feed&utm_source=govtrack/feed&utm_medium=rss
  7. http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/will-members-of-congress-really-vote-against-a-bill-to-protect-born-alive-abortion-survivors/article/2646253
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About T. Arthur Mason 883 Articles
T. Arthur Mason is a native North Dakotan who has spent nearly all of his life in the Peace Garden State. As the third of four children in Western North Dakota, Mason grew to appreciate family and the outdoors. Some of his fondest memories are annual deer hunts with family and friends. In his early teenage years, faith became a central part of T. Arthur Mason's life. He and the majority of his family attend church together on a weekly basis and find this a fulfilling aspect of their lives. Through the influence of his father, T. Arthur Mason became intrigued with politics. As a boy, he attended political events with his father and enjoyed the friendships that resulted as a byproduct of those political associations. As Mason grew older, he became convinced that the quote often attributed to Thomas Jefferson was true, "That government is best which governs least." Today, T. Arthur Mason enjoys time with his wife and children, an occasional hunt, and an increasingly active life on the political scene. This blog is the fulfillment of a dream to design a web site in the realm of politics and to advocate for the principles of Liberty and constitutionally limited government. On behalf of all those that contribute to The Minuteman, we hope you enjoy your time on the site and will share the message with others.

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