Nita Lowey: “the proponents of this bill say it is about protecting newborns. We can all agree that newborns deserve appropriate…”

“the proponents of this bill say it is about protecting newborns. We can all agree that newborns deserve appropriate medical support and the fullest protection of the law no matter the circumstances of delivery. In fact, newborn infants already receive full legal protection in State and Federal law. Any attempt to harm a newborn can and should be subject to criminal prosecution. Everyone agrees on this. Yet, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Canady), my friend, has also said that this bill would not change existing law and would have no impact on medical standards of care. Then what is the rationale for this bill? Dr. Sessions Cole, who trained at Harvard Medical School, who is board certified in pediatrics and has cared for more than 10,000 newborns directly, believes it would change the standard of care. In testimony before the Committee on the Judiciary, Dr. Cole stated that the bill would ``impose on doctors and parents a universal definition of `life' or `alive' which is,'' he said, ``in my experience as a neonatologist, inconsistent with the harsh reality presented by a number of circumstances.''”