The Senate rejected the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act by a vote of 53-44. It needed 60 votes to advance. The bill proposed making it a felony if a healthcare practitioner failed to care for a child who survived an abortion or attempted abortion.
All Republicans and Democratic Sens. Bob Casey (Pa.), Doug Jones (Ala.), and Joe Manchin (WVa.) voted for the bill. No Republicans voted against the bill. All 44 votes against the bill were cast by members of the Democratic caucus.
After the vote, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said, “Evidently the far left is no longer convinced that all babies are created equal.”
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) criticized McConnell for bringing the bill to the floor for a vote. He said, “This is pure Mitch McConnell. It’s all aimed at keeping his base in line, while the president grows increasingly unpopular. We’re not doing infrastructure, we’re not doing health care. We’re not doing anything that matters to help our country. It’s just votes on abortion and other kinds of divisive votes he’s going to bring.”