Press Releases

Congressman Glenn Grothman (R-Glenbeulah) today released the following statement on the radical new abortion law in New York and bill in Virginia, both allowing abortions up until the birth of the child:

“While I normally don’t comment on state legislation, the radical nature of these bills requires it.” Said Grothman. “One has to wonder about the future of our nation when governors of historic states- both among the original 13 colonies- praise bills designed to approve killing children at birth.

I should point out that very few countries approve of these late-term abortions. America is one of seven, along with North Korea, China, Vietnam, Canada, the Netherlands and Singapore.

Defenders say that late-term abortions are for unviable children. I once talked to a woman who assisted in late-term abortions for one day in Ohio. Five of the six children killed were entirely healthy and one had Down Syndrome.

America, a country founded for a moral and religious people, is disgracing itself. Where are the churches? Where are the good people?”

Background
Democrats Overplay Their Hand on Abortion
New York- “On the 46th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation permitting all abortions until 24 weeks of pregnancy. After that point, the bill asks only that the provider make a ‘reasonable and good-faith professional judgment’ that ‘there is an absence of fetal viability’ or that abortion is ‘necessary to protect the patient’s life or health.’ That last term, health, is left studiously undefined, a significant omission.” DeSanctis, Alexandra. “Democrats Overplay Their Hand on Abortion.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 4 Feb. 2019, www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/02/new-york-and-virginia-push-expand-abortion-rights/581959/.

Virginia- “Democratic Delegate Kathy Tran introduced a bill—with the backing of her party and of Democratic Governor Ralph Northam—that would significantly loosen existing restrictions on abortion in the final three months of pregnancy. Currently, third-trimester abortions are permitted only if three doctors certify that a woman’s health otherwise would be ‘substantially or irremediably’ impaired. Under Tran’s bill, only the physician who would perform the abortion must provide that certification, and the ‘substantially or irremediably’ language is dropped, in favor of a provision that allows for an exception if the continuation of the pregnancy is determined to ‘impair the mental or physical health of the woman’—a provision that may appear commonsensical, but is in fact intentionally vague.” DeSanctis, Alexandra. “Democrats Overplay Their Hand on Abortion.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 4 Feb. 2019, www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/02/new-york-and-virginia-push-expand-abortion-rights/581959/.

Congressman Grothman has been a cosponsor of the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act as well as the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Act. Both bills passed the House of Representatives with bipartisan support in the 115^th Congress.

The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act makes elective abortions on unborn babies 20 weeks post-fertilization or older illegal, except in cases of rape or incest, or to protect the life of the mother. In Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker signed a similar bill into law in 2015. Wisconsin’s Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act prohibits abortions of unborn children after 20 weeks post-fertilization.

The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Act amends the country’s criminal code to prohibit health care practitioners from not administering the proper degree of care in the case of a child who survives an abortion or attempted abortion. Specifically, the bill:

• Requires health care practitioners to do all they can to preserve the life of the child as they would other babies born prematurely and requires the   practitioner to ensure that the child is immediately transferred and admitted to the hospital.
• Establishes strong criminal penalties for anyone who intentionally kills, or attempts to kill, a child born alive.
• Allows the woman upon whom the abortion was performed or attempted to obtain appropriate relief through civil action.
• Exempts the mother from being prosecuted under this law.

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U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman is serving his third term representing Wisconsin’s 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.