Ben Sasse is pushing the Senate to take up his bill protecting infants who survive abortion attempts

Republican Sen. Ben Sasse (Neb.) said Thursday during an interview on The Glenn Beck Radio Show on TheBlaze Radio he has reintroduced legislation to protect infants who survive attempted abortion procedures.

TheBlaze previously reported that Sasse recently reintroduced the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. The legislation would require that newborns who survive attempted abortions be provided with appropriate medical care.

“It requires that hospitals and doctors give the same attention to an abortion survivor that would have been given to any premature baby at that same age and it criminalizes the intentional killing of a baby that was born,” Sasse told host Glenn Beck.

Supporters of the legislation say that newborns who survive botched abortion procedures are sometimes left to die by medical professionals because federal law does not adequately protect such children.

Sasse introduced the legislation alongside 27 fellow senators, but wonders why there weren't more.

"Last week I introduced it with 27 other senators, which is sort of a good thing, but you're like, how in the world is this not introduced with 99 other senators?" Sasse said. “It passed the House of Representatives last year on a bipartisan vote but didn’t go anywhere in the Senate, so please, let your senators know that this is common-sense legislation.”

The House passed the bill in a bipartisan 248-177 vote in the face of a veto threat from former President Barack Obama.

Sasse said that, although he is pro-life and recognizes that there are differences of opinion on the issue of abortion, “everyone should be able to agree on this.”

“Life isn’t disposable,” Sasse said. “When a baby is born, you can’t lock her in a closet and just leave her alone and cold to die struggling for breath,” he said. “It’s crazy that we haven’t yet criminalized this.”

Sasse said that the pro-life movement is driving positive change in culture, but his bill is a positive step that can be taken “in the legislative domain.”

“We ought to be able to start with things we can agree on,” he said. “Americans are the kind of people who cheer for the vulnerable, we fight for minorities, we protect the powerless from the powerful, and a little baby boy or girl that’s just been born fighting for their life, that’s the most basic thing … to defend.”

Sasse pointed to the case of Philadelphia abortionist Dr. Kermit Gosnell as a reason why the legislation is necessary. Gosnell was convicted in 2013 of performing abortions beyond Pennsylvania’s 24-weeks gestation limit, three counts of first-degree murder for killing babies born alive and the involuntary manslaughter of 41-year-old Karnamaya Mongar, a refugee who had only recently arrived in the United States after fleeing war-torn Bhutan.

Sasse said the legislation would criminalize such actions on a federal level.

“We need clarity in this movement,” Sasse said, adding that “we need to be having a debate about what life is” with those who support “abortion on demand.”

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