WASHINGTON, D.C., January 10, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives voted Friday against adopting language that would have merely added preborn children to existing safety regulations on drinking water.

HR 535, the PFAS Action Act of 2019, would amend the federal Safe Drinking Water Act by adding “unborn child” to its list of subpopulations that would be particularly vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water. It defines “unborn child” as a “member of the species homo sapiens, at any stage of development who is carried in the womb,” which has already been used in federal law in the Unborn Victims of Violence Act.

This morning, the House voted on a motion to recommit HR 535 offered by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA). It was shot down by a 187-219 vote.

“Most importantly, it protects the unborn child, something I hope everyone in this room can agree should be one of our greatest priorities: to protect people before they are born, and at every stage of their lives,” she said on the House floor. “I urge my colleagues to support science by supporting my motion to recommit.”

BREAKING: Democrats JUST blocked us from protecting unborn children from hazardous chemicals that harm development.



RT to tell them to stop denying the science that the development of a child starts in the womb. #prolife pic.twitter.com/G2a3q06uIN — CathyMcMorrisRodgers (@cathymcmorris) January 10, 2020

“This motion ensures that unborn babies are taken into consideration when studying the effects of certain toxins on vulnerable populations,” Susan B. Anthony List president Marjorie Dannenfelser declared. “To vote against it would be to vote against protecting unborn babies, who may be particularly vulnerable to chemical exposure.”

The Democrat-controlled House has consistently opposed the most modest of pro-life measures, most notably legislation to require basic medical treatment for infants born alive after failed abortions.