Ricketts Champions Pro-Life Movement’s Successes in Nebraska, Calls for Passage of Born-Alive Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday on the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE), celebrated the pro-life movement’s successful ballot initiatives in Nebraska.

“The pro-life movement is about love, compassion, dignity, and respect. Nebraska is a pro-life state, and Nebraska has been a leader in the pro-life movement…” said Ricketts. “Last year, Nebraska again showed the nation what we could do in the pro-life movement. We were the first state to pass a pro-life ballot initiative. And while doing that, we were able to prevent the pro-abortion lobby from passing a really heinous pro-abortion ballot initiative.”

Ricketts called on his colleagues to support the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. He also announced he would soon introduce the Dignity for Aborted Children Act. The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, sponsored by Senator James Lankford (R-OK) and co-sponsored by Ricketts and 44 colleagues, would ensure essential medical care for babies that survive abortion attempts. The Dignity for Aborted Children Act would ensure that the remains of aborted children are treated with dignity and respect.

“And so what we’ve seen in the abortion industry is that when there’s a botched abortion, that baby oftentimes will just be born alive but then left to die of exposure,” said Ricketts. “It’s absolutely barbaric. Absolutely heinous. And that’s what the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act does. It requires medical treatment to be given to those babies.”

Ricketts also praised the thousands of Americans, including many Nebraskans, who would join the National March for Life on Friday.

“We need to remind all of our fellow citizens that these little babies deserve the same protections we all have as citizens of the United States,” Ricketts closed. “It’s about extending basic human rights to some of the most vulnerable among us. And I appreciate the work that all these pro-life advocates will be doing to be able to help carry our message out this weekend. Working together, we can defend life and empower women.”

TRANSCRIPT:

Senator Ricketts: “Mr. President, the pro-life movement is about love, compassion, dignity, and respect.

“Nebraska is a pro-life state, and Nebraska has been a leader in the pro-life movement.

“In 2010, Nebraska was the first state to pass a law with regard to pain-capable fetuses.

“And effectively made it so you had a 20-week prohibition on abortion.

“Protecting those babies after 20 weeks because they could feel pain.

“Last year, Nebraska again showed the nation what we could do in the pro-life movement.

“We were the first state to pass a pro-life ballot initiative.

“And while doing that, we were able to prevent the pro-abortion lobby from passing a really heinous pro-abortion ballot initiative.

“The pro-abortion forces’ ballot initiative would have essentially enshrined in our constitution not only the right to abortion but would have allowed abortion up until essentially the moment of birth.

“It was incredibly radical. And I’m very proud of our state.

“The people of Nebraska took our current law and kept that on the ballot and defeated the pro-abortion’s very radical initiative.

“We have the opportunity here in the Senate to be able to continue to uphold the dignity of unborn children.

“There’s a couple of bills that I want to talk about.

“They both have the word abortion in them, but they’re really not about abortion.

“They’re about that love and compassion, that dignity and respect.

“The first is the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.

“So in 2002, Congress passed bipartisan legislation that said that children who survive an abortion are to be treated as people under the law.

“Now, to me that sounds a little crazy that we had to do that. But we actually passed that.

“It seemed common sense that if you’re born, you’re a person.

“You’re protected under our laws here in the United States.

“Sadly, that’s not the case.

“In that 2002 law, it didn’t say that the child had to receive care.

“And so what we’ve seen in the abortion industry is that when there’s a botched abortion, that baby oftentimes will just be born alive but then left to die of exposure.

“It’s absolutely barbaric. Absolutely heinous.

“And that’s what the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act does.

“It requires medical treatment to be given to those babies.

“So if a baby girl is born in a botched abortion attempt, that baby girl gets the medical attention it needs so that she can survive and grow up.

“Now, you may say, well, this sounds ridiculous. Why wouldn’t that happen?

“Well, as I said, it does happen in the abortion industry.

“Melissa Ohden’s mother was pressured into trying to have an abortion in a hospital in Sioux City, Iowa.

“Melissa was born alive. And thank goodness there was a nurse there who then took her to the NICU, so she could get the medical attention, so that she could survive and grow up to be the woman she is today.

“Melissa was later adopted and has contributed to our country.

“That’s part of what we in the pro-life movement need to do is make sure we’re defending the rights of these babies.

“We have another opportunity as well.

“And again, the name of the bill has abortion in it, but it’s really not about abortion.

“It’s about protecting the dignity of unborn children.

“In this case, it’s unborn children who are killed in that abortion.

“Just a few years ago the remains of over 2,000 aborted babies were discovered in a home in Indiana.

“And many Americans were shocked to find out that children who are aborted are often just disposed of.

“They’re treated like — their remains are treated like medical waste.

“That’s just absolutely fundamentally wrong.

“These babies deserve the dignity that every other person has.

“And so in a few days I’m going to introduce the Dignity for Aborted Children Act.

“What my bill will do is require the abortion industry to treat with dignity and respect the remains of these aborted children.

“That they will get the same dignity and respect as any human being who dies.

“Finally, I want to recognize that we’ve got the March for Life coming up on Friday.

“I want to say thank you to all of the marchers, who are going to be here to be able to demonstrate our movement’s commitment to love, compassion, dignity, and respect.

“Your advocacy plays a critical role in making sure that we help save the lives of all these unborn babies.

“When we talk about the most vulnerable, who could be more vulnerable than a baby that hasn’t been born yet, that we can’t hear that little girl or little boy’s voice yet?

“These marchers will be here to be that voice for those little babies.

“So thank you for the work that you’re doing, to be able to continue to get our message out about love and compassion, dignity and respect.

“We need to remind all of our fellow citizens that these little babies deserve the same protections we all have as citizens of the United States.

“It’s about extending basic human rights to some of the most vulnerable among us.

“And I appreciate the work that all these pro-life advocates will be doing to be able to help carry our message out this weekend.

“Working together, we can defend life and empower women.

“With that, Mr. President, I yield back my time.”