Kennedy, senators introduce pro-life legislation to protect women and unborn children

By Office of John Kennedy

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today introduced the Pregnant Women Health and Safety Act and the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act, which protect vulnerable women and children in the womb.

“Since Roe v. Wade, over 60 million babies have been killed in the womb. That’s about the same death toll as World War II. Female babies are especially at risk, as only 11states have made it illegal to abort a child based on his other sex. Throughout the nation, the abortion industry also takes advantage of women by cutting medical corners at their expense. We must act today to ensure that vulnerable women have easy access to vital protective care and that no child dies because of her sex,” said Kennedy.

The Pregnant Women Health and Safety Act requires abortion providers to have admitting privileges at hospitals located within 15 miles of the medical office where the abortion occurs. It would also require abortion clinics to inform patients of a hospital where they can receive follow-up care. Any abortion doctor who violates these requirements would face fines and up to two years in jail.

Cosponsors of the Pregnant Women Health and Safety Act include Sens. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Mike Rounds(R-S.D.) and Thom Tillis(R-N.C.). The Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act would make sex-selective abortions illegal. The bill imposes fines of up to five years in jail on anyone who aborts a baby because of the child’s sex or gender, who coerces a woman into performing a sex-selective abortion, who asks for or accepts money for having a sex-selective abortion or who transports someone into the U.S. or across state lines in order to receive a sex-selective abortion.

Cosponsors of the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act include Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) and John Thune(R-N.D.).

Kennedy has also cosponsored the following pro-life bills in the 117thCongress:

1. Support and Value Expectant (SAVE) Moms and Babies Act, which limits the production and spread of chemical abortion drugs.
2. Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which requires lifesaving medical care for any baby who survives an abortion.
3. No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, which prevents taxpayer dollars from ever funding abortions.
4. Abortion is not Healthcare Act, which stops abortions from being tax deductible.
5. Protecting Life in Foreign Assistance Act, which codifies into law the Mexico City Policy, preventing American dollars from funding abortions and abortion advocacy in foreign countries.
6. Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, which stops abortions for out-of-state minors who do not have their parents’ approval.
7. Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which criminalizes abortions of unborn babies 20 weeks or more into the pregnancy.
8. Life at Conception Act, which defines a “person” to include people at all stages of life, including from the moment of fertilization, which will guarantee the constitutional right to life to the unborn.
9. Defund Planned Parenthood Act, which would prohibit federal tax dollars from going to Planned Parenthood or any other organization that performs abortions.