‘The Kentuckians I speak with cannot comprehend why this would be some hotly-debated proposition. It almost defies belief that an entire political party could find cause to object to this basic protection for babies.’
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding protecting life:
‘Today, every Senator will be able to take a clear moral stand. We’ll have the chance to proceed to commonsense legislation that would move our nation closer to the international mainstream with respect to defending innocent human life.
‘There are only seven nations left in the world where an unborn child can be killed by elective abortion after 20 weeks, and the United States of America is one of them.
‘Set aside all the far-left rhetoric that will greet Senator Graham’s straightforward legislation and consider this simple fact. Do our Democratic colleagues really believe that what our country needs is a radical fringe position on elective abortion that we only share with China, North Korea, and four other countries in the world?
‘The American people don’t seem to think that’s what we need. One recent survey found that 70 percent of all Americans believe that at a minimum, elective abortion should be limited to the first three months of pregnancy. That even includes about half of the respondents who self-identified as “pro-choice.”
‘So I hope this body will vote to proceed to Senator Graham’s Pain-Capable Unborn Child Act later today. I see no reason why — at the very, very least — our Democratic colleagues should vote against even proceeding to this legislation and having this debate.
‘If there is a persuasive and principled case why America should remain on the radical international fringe on this subject, let us hear it. Let us have this debate. Few Americans agree with that radical position, but let us have the debate.
‘If my Democratic colleagues block the Senate from even proceeding to debate this legislation later today, the message they send will be chilling and clear: The radical demands of the far-left will drown out common sense and the views of most Americans.
‘The same goes for Senator Sasse’s legislation, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. Even if most Washington Democrats persist in their resistance to any common-sense protections for the unborn, surely we must be able to agree that children who are born deserve protection. Surely that much cannot be controversial.
‘There is currently no federal mandate that children who are delivered alive following attempted abortions receive medical care. No clear guarantee that every child born alive in the United States -- whether they were intended to be or not -- is entitled to the same lifegiving medical attention.
‘The Kentuckians I speak with cannot comprehend why this would be some hotly-debated proposition. It almost defies belief that an entire political party could find cause to object to this basic protection for babies.
‘And yet, today, we will see whether our Democratic colleagues permit the Senate to even proceed to this legislation. We’ll see whether even something this simple and this morally straightforward is a bridge too far for the far left.
‘I urge all of my colleagues — let’s advance these bills. Let’s take these modest steps. Let’s have the courage to say the right to life must not exclude the most vulnerable among us.’
###
