The Born Alive Infants Protection Act goes back to a Chicago hospital, where induced labor abortions were being performed on a regular basis. The late-second, early-third trimester abortions involve inducing labor, birthing baby almost all the way, and usually killing them by suctioning their brains out while the head remains inside the mother. Even Republicans and Democrats agree this procedure is immoral and deplorable. But, this goes further.

A live baby is born in 15 to 20 percent of the cases  — sometimes for a few minutes, sometimes several hours. But no thought had been given to medical treatment after they survive an abortion. Instead, they were shelved and left to die from neglect.

The Illinois Legislature tried to pass a law that would have protected babies by defining anyone who is already born and alive — including those who survive an abortion — as a person. Each time it came up, Obama was the only state senator to speak against this law on the Illinois Senate floor.

Obama voted “present” on the first bill which, in Illinois Legislature, is equivalent to “NO.”  It was part of his strategy devised with Planned Parenthood lobbyists. The same legislation came up the following year. He did it again.

In 2003, Obama became chairman of the Senate Health Committee and was recorded as telling his committee he voted against the bill again “because it didn’t contain the same language as the Federal Board of Live Infants Protection Act.”  This was misleading to the committee because, in fact, this bill did contain that language — it was exactly the same as the bill that went to the U.S. Senate floor.

But now he says that he didn’t vote against it, he was actually for it, that the law was already protecting those babies. He’s insulting our intelligence again. In fact, Obama is even against a new provision that would require a second doctor to be present, in order to help a live-born baby that the first doctor tried to abort. 

Obama’s voting history and deceptive statements on providing care to babies who survive abortions reveal his lack of conscience and ever evolving memory. How could any person, pro-choice or pro-life, think a baby should be left to die by neglect? It is inhumane. Evidently, that’s just fine with Obama.

There’s a reason Obama is known as the most liberal senator whether it’s guns, taxes, national security. Or even babies.

Linda Piovesan

North Bend