Governor Roy Cooper faces a tough political decision, but a simple moral question.
The NC House of Representatives approved legislation banning post-birth abortion of living, breathing children in a bipartisan vote.
Senate Bill 359 Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act requires healthcare practitioners to provide the same duty of care to every infant born alive in North Carolina, whether it was born alive despite an abortion.
For clarity’s sake, this legislation only applies when a living, breathing infant is completely removed from a mother’s womb and showing signs of life like a heartbeat.
Contrary to anti-life critics claims, this legislation contains provisions regarding pre-birth abortion procedures.
“This bill has nothing to do with a woman’s decision to abort her baby. Nor does it have anything to do with the abortion procedure itself. This is about the baby that is born alive when the abortion fails to kill the baby. This bill just does the right and just thing for these little babies, human beings, living and breathing, and they’re worthy of this protection. ”
Rep. Pat McElfraft, (R-Carteret)
Rep. McElraft pointed to laws recently passed in New York and proposed in Virginia to allow post-birth abortions that she called “barbaric” and “infanticide.”
Dr. Greg Murphy (R-Pitt), the legislature’s only medical doctor, expressed support for the measure in the debate on Tuesday.
“This bill is not to debate the legality of abortion. This bill just speaks to the mere fact that if a child is born alive, they’re alive. Their life is not to be taken, regardless of what was the anticipated desire at the beginning of the delivery. The child is alive.”
Dr. Greg Murphy, (R-Pitt)