Recently, North Carolina’s Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, vetoed the state legislature’s born-alive bill—despite the fact that the state House and the Senate are Republican-controlled.
Cooper’s veto comes at a time when abortions are declining, yet the debate about life continues to create controversy at the state and federal level alike. Cooper’s unwillingness to honor the wishes of North Carolina’s constituents shows just how obsessed Democrats are with abortion, an issue that remains paramount to their platform, under the guise of “reproductive rights.”
The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Act, originally sponsored by Republican lawmakers, would have required doctors to try to preserve the life of any baby born alive following an abortion attempt.
Revealing
Two of the born-alive bill’s primary sponsors, Republican Sen. Joyce Krawiec and Rep. Pat McElraft, said in a joint statement, according to CNN affiliate WRAL, that “caring for a living, breathing newborn infant is too restrictive for Governor Cooper’s radical abortion agenda.”Indeed, this veto demonstrates several things about political points, the abortion debate, and the importance of valuing life in a societal makeup.
Cooper’s claim that the bill is simply redundant and therefore unnecessary is a straw man claim. This law specifically stated how to handle babies post-abortion; that’s why Cooper didn’t touch it. Not to mention, every state in the Union has passed redundant, even silly, measures—that doesn’t keep them from being signed.
Cooper’s personal opinions about abortion aside, by vetoing the bill, he turns a blind eye to his constituents, the very people who voted for the legislators who passed the bill in both chambers. Politicians aren’t in office to be lone dictators but to represent the will of the people—this bill to protect babies was clearly the will of the people of North Carolina, by a majority.
Abortion, or passing a provision protecting babies who survive an abortion, is not simply about the procedure itself but is a way to deflect from encouraging Americans to adopt a culture that values life. By vetoing the born-alive bill, Cooper doesn’t just hurt babies who have survived abortions, he also promulgates the idea that abortion is no longer “safe, legal, and rare,” but normal, preferred, and common. Nothing should be further from the truth and in fact, abortion is becoming increasingly rare, as more and more states pass “heartbeat” laws.
Cooper’s decision to veto is a sure demonstration of the power of abortion to Democrats, as an issue, a strategy, a fundraising tool, and a signal of their strength as a progressive party, willing to subvert the will of the people to coerce society into accepting a culture of death.