Here is a partial transcript from an Illinios senate debate about the Born Alive Protection Act, which took place on April 4, 2002:
SENATOR OBAMA: As I understand it, this puts the burden on the attending physician who has determined, since they were performing this procedure, that, in fact, this is a nonviable fetus; that if that fetus, or child — however way you want to describe it — is now outside the mother’s womb and the doctor continues to think that it’s nonviable but there’s, let’s say, movement or some indication that, in fact, they’re not just coming out limp and dead, that, in fact, they would then have to call a second physician to monitor and check off and make sure that this is not a live child that could be saved. Is that correct?Also, Obama claimed that the Born Alive Protection Act "is about abortion and not live births." But...Senator....some of these babies are born ALIVE and left in closets alone to die, so as not to garner the hopefully ingrained compassion of the health care workers in the next room. Senator Obama actually heard testimony from a nurse, who chose to sit in a closet for 45 minutes holding a baby who was born alive after a failed abortion attempt and left in there to die.
But, apparently, it is all "about abortion" according to Mr. Obama. Who cares if the inconvenient "punishment" has the audacity to "not (come) out limp and dead"? It's all about "what liabilities the doctor might have in this situation", as Senator Obama also said during the debate.
