May Jesus transform hearts of elected officials regarding infanticide

“Though gradually, though no one remembers exactly how it happened, the unthinkable becomes tolerable. And then acceptable. And then legal. And then applaudable.” — Joni Eareckson Tada
Earlier this month, people were stunned by the news of a 29-year-old mother from northern New Jersey who slit the throat of her 5-day-old newborn son killing him while her family ate dinner in the other room. After calling 911, the young mother was arrested and charged with the baby’s murder.
Unthinkable. Then tolerable. Then acceptable…
On Jan. 22, 2019, the chamber of the New York legislature filled with cheers as the state further codified abortion up until the moment of birth with the Reproductive Health Act which also removed specific protections for babies born alive during an attempted abortion. The One World Trade Center was then lit pink to celebrate Governor Andrew Cuomo’s signing the bill into law.
Now legal. Now laudable...
Like North Korea and China, America is coming dangerously close to becoming a society that is comfortably numb to third trimester abortions as well as infanticide of infants who survive the abortion process.
Sadly, the United States Senate has failed to pass “The Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (S.311)” a measure that would require that babies born alive in an abortion receive the same basic medical treatment as any other baby born at that gestational age.
Opponents of the Born-Alive bill claim that there is no evidence that babies are born-alive during an attempted abortion. However, reports show:
•    That Florida had 11 infants born alive in an attempted abortion in 2017 and six were born alive in 2018. Thankfully, Florida law includes protection for born-alive babies.
•    In 2017, Arizona had 10 babies delivered alive during an attempted abortion and Minnesota had three. Again, both states have laws that protect born-alive babies.
There is also proof that babies who are born-alive are often neglected or even killed. Evidence of these cases is revealed in the grand jury report in the Kermit Gosnell murder trial that gives us a detailed look into the grotesque conditions to which the Philadelphia abortionist subjected women and infants. The doctor was convicted of murder in the death of one patient due to a botched abortion, and several infanticides. One employee testified that hundreds of born-alive children were killed in his clinic, sometimes referred to as “after-birth abortions.”
Gianna Jessen and Melissa Ohden, both late-term saline abortion survivors who were left to die, have testified before Congress, putting faces on the need for this legislation. Both women were never supposed to make it out of the womb alive, but today, they are both happy and healthy, having survived their own abortions.
Twenty-nine states, like Florida and Arizona, have laws with explicit protections for babies who survive abortions. One must assume that the measures were put into law for a reason, because abortion providers were not motivated to take concrete steps to save the baby that they were hired to eliminate. However, many states, including New Jersey, do not afford protection to born-alive babies. A federal law is necessary to ensure that all infants who survive abortions are protected, not just those in certain states.
The federal Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Act would require a doctor to follow concrete steps to provide the child with immediate medical attention, without bias for the failed abortion that delivered the child. The measure does not require that every extraordinary treatment be given to the child if it would be futile and possibly painful for the baby.
“The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (H.R. 962)” was introduced in Congress. But abortion advocates in the U.S. House of Representatives won’t allow a vote on the bill. A “discharge petition” has been filed, which means that if enough U.S. representatives sign their names to the petition, it would override this obstruction and enable a vote. As a Church we have a responsibility to advocate for public policies that seek the common good and build a culture of life.  Please consider taking action today!
Tell Congress we need stronger laws to protect babies who survive abortion and are born alive. Text ALIVE to 50457 or visit: www.babiesbornalive.com. You will receive a reply to the text with a link with a prepared message, you will enter your information and hit “send.”
It only takes two minutes!
May Jesus, the Lord of Life, transform the hearts of all elected leaders to recognize that infanticide is wrong and unthinkable and must not be tolerated. May He open hearts and minds to recognize and defend the precious gift of every human life, born and unborn.
Jennifer Ruggiero is secretary, diocesan Secretariat for Family and Pastoral Life