At a time when protecting babies is, unfathomably, a partisan issue, I’m working hard to uphold our Missouri values and support one of our most vulnerable populations: the unborn. It is simply incomprehensible how many precious lives have been cut short by abortion, and now some politicians are taking it a step further and actually advocating for ending the lives of babies after birth.

The Governor of Virginia, a pediatrician, recently advocated for abortion after delivery, “If a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen. The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that's what the mother and the family desired. And then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.”

Just writing those words makes me feel ill. The gift of life is an inherent right bestowed on each and every human being at the moment of conception and I will not stand by and watch as the values of our great nation are destroyed by those who refuse to protect these precious lives. As your Congressman, it is my responsibility to fight for Missouri values, and throughout my time in Congress I have consistently supported pro-life legislation and pro-life causes.

This week, I joined House Republican Whip Steve Scalise and my fellow Missouri Congresswoman Ann Wagner in an effort to bring the Born Alive Act to a vote in the House of Representatives. The Born Alive Act simply requires all healthcare practitioners to exercise skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and health of the child after birth. This ensures abortion survivors are guaranteed the same degree of care that would be offered to any other child born prematurely. In addition, the Born Alive Act penalizes the intentional killing of abortion survivors. The fact that we need a new law to outlaw killing a living child is nearly as shocking as the practice itself.

The Born Alive Act is common sense legislation that upholds the sanctity of all human life, yet the Democratic House Majority refuses to bring this bill up for a vote. House Republicans are therefore utilizing a procedural tool, called a discharge petition, to force the Majority to allow us to take a vote on this bill. Once the discharge petition is signed by a majority of the House of Representatives, Speaker Pelosi must bring the bill to the floor. In order to do so we need some of our Democratic colleagues to stand up to the radical wing of their party and do what is right. Our constituents deserve to know where we stand on this issue, and I was happy to sign the discharge petition this week.

America has always been a safe haven of freedom, allowing individuals to live by their own deeply held beliefs at home, at work, and in public. I’m proud to be an original cosponsor of Congressman Andy Harris’ bill, the Conscience Protection Act, which was introduced this week. This legislation will ensure our hardworking health care providers are not forced to violate their consciences and participate in abortions, and it prevents any federal, state, or local government from penalizing or discriminating against a health care provider if the provider does not participate in an abortion. Finally, it protects from coercion into abortion practices that violate their personal and religious beliefs.

I also led more than eighty of my colleagues in a letter to leaders on the House Appropriations Committee imploring them to maintain and expand upon important pro-life causes. I urged them to strengthen conscience protections for healthcare providers, maintain the integrity of our nation’s vital medical research, and end taxpayer subsidies for Planned Parenthood. Not only has President Trump made it clear he will veto any legislation that undermines or nullifies existing pro-life policy, but including these provisions is simply the right thing to do.

We cannot stand idly by as our values and morals are denigrated by those who are unwilling to protect the most vulnerable in our society. I will continue to do everything in my power to protect the sanctity of life.