Senate Democrats' abortion vote shows they are determined to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory

[Kimstu]

@SlackerInc

Maybe you and the others arguing with me in this thread can sort out whether this law would be completely redundant (and thus, obviously, harmless) or “cause real harm”

If you had done even the most cursory research on this bill yourself, you would have easily found out that it’s both: namely, any protections conferred by this bill are completely redundant because they already exist in other laws, while the harms caused by it could be quite damaging (in the rare cases that this bill would actually cover).

Here’s an explanation of the harmful aspects:

The bill would require doctors to use all means available to save the life of a child born alive after an attempted abortion. […]

Less than 1 percent of all abortions are done after 24 weeks, and many are performed because the fetus has a fatal condition or the pregnant woman’s life or health is at severe risk. […]

Dr. Grossman said there were painful situations in which the fetus might be at the edge of viability and labor must be induced to save the mother’s life. For instance, a condition called pre-eclampsia, involving high blood pressure and other problems, can kill both mother and fetus, and in most cases the only treatment is to deliver the baby. If it seems unlikely that the baby will survive, the family may choose to provide just comfort care — wrapping and cuddling the baby — and allow the child to die naturally without extreme attempts at resuscitation.

The bill would force doctors to resuscitate such an infant, even if the parents did not want those measures, said Dr. Jennifer Conti, an obstetrician gynecologist who is a fellow of Physicians for Reproductive Health, an advocacy group. Doctors who violated the law would be subject to criminal penalties, as would anyone who saw the violation and failed to report it, she said.

I think it’s kind of disgusting that you’re trying to treat this issue as a mere game of “political optics”, and are criticizing the Democrats who voted against this callous and malicious bill for not cynically going along with it to burden families and doctors with pointless suffering. ISTM it would be absolutely heartbreaking for the grieving mother of a non-viable fetus to know that her doctor is being forced to painfully resuscitate it after delivery only to let it painfully die, because otherwise the doctor could go to jail.

That’s the sort of real-life consequences you’re cavalierly ignoring when you whine that Democrats aren’t being sufficiently “politically savvy” in voting against this bill.

(Where’s the “spits contemptuously” smiley when we need one?)