Just how surreal have things gotten in Washington these days? For one solid yardstick, look no further than the attempt by Ben Sasse to obtain unanimous consent for the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act in the Senate last night. The crux of the bill is fairly simple. If a baby is born alive, even in the case of an attempted abortion, and is breathing outside the mother’s body… you can’t murder it. It’s a bill designed to prevent infanticide. Surely, even in the current climate of political hysteria, that’s one thing we can all agree on, right?

Guess again. Unanimous consent was blocked by Senator Patty Murray (D – WA). Somebody pull the emergency brake because this train is going off the rails. (National Review)

On the Senate floor this evening, Senator Ben Sasse (R., Neb.) called for unanimous consent on his Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which provides protections for any infants born alive after attempted abortion procedures. Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington objected to the bill on the floor, preventing it from receiving unanimous consent… Earlier today, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell affirmed his support for Sasse’s legislation and hinted that he’d be willing to bring it to the floor for a roll-call vote. “I hope that none of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle invent any reasons to block this request later today,” McConnell said. “That would make quite a disturbing statement. If they do inexplicably block Senator Sasse’s effort, I can assure them that this will not be the last time we try to ensure that all newborns are afforded this fundamental legal protection.”

What possible reason could there be for Murray to block this? Well, she managed to come up with one. She claimed the bill wasn’t needed because “there are already legal prohibitions on infanticide.” Really? Tell that to the state governments of Virginia and New York, who both seem to be dancing along the line on this one.

Sasse wryly referred to such procedures as “fourth-trimester abortions” but that’s an unfortunate phrase to invoke. We’re no longer having a discussion about abortion here. Once a baby is delivered and no longer in the mother’s body, she is no longer pregnant and an “abortion” is no longer possible. The child is an independent human being, assured of all the fundamental rights of Americans. We should be reminded of the first three words of the Fourteenth Amendment. “All persons born…”

And do I really need to remind anyone that what we’re talking about here is murdering infants? How far into the darkness of poisonous politics must a person fall to be presented with a proposal saying you shouldn’t murder babies and have them somehow find the will to stand up and object to it?

Murray didn’t do her fellow Democrats any favors here. I assume the bill will now come up for a floor vote and roll call. That puts every Democrat on the spot since they’ll have to on record with a choice to either anger the hard left base or endorse killing infants. Good luck with that one.