Targeting babies with Down syndrome for abortion is “the most lethal kind of discrimination imaginable,” Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) declared this week.
Speaking with Catholic News Agency (CNA), Sen. Daines, the Senate pro-life caucus chair, noted that “babies with Down syndrome are the most endangered on Earth” because of the frequency with which they are singled out for abortion.
“This is eugenics, and we cannot allow this to continue in our country,” Daines said in the interview published on January 31.
Daines is a cosponsor of the Protecting Individuals with Down Syndrome Act, sponsored by Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), which would ban a doctor from performing an abortion being sought because the unborn child has Down syndrome.
While the legislation would not penalize the expectant mother in any way, it would enact a federal ban on the performance of an abortion with the knowledge that a pregnant woman is seeking an abortion, in whole or in part, on the basis of a belief that her unborn child has Down syndrome.
“As prenatal screenings increase in availability and accessibility, more and more women learn whether or not their baby has Down syndrome prior to the baby’s birth,” reads a press release on the bill’s reintroduction. “Sadly, many of these lives are aborted following a diagnosis— over two-thirds of unborn babies diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted in the United States, and the population of individuals in Iceland with Down syndrome is being virtually eradicated altogether.”
Daines decried the hypocrisy of fellow senators who support the Special Olympics yet will not vote to ban selective abortions of children with Down syndrome.
“On one hand, these pro-abortion thinkers and leaders will applaud the Special Olympics. On the other hand, they support selective abortions for babies with Down syndrome,” he said. “To me, those are two views that are in great conflict with one another.”
Last Thursday, President Joe Biden issued an order allowing for U.S. taxpayer funding of international pro-abortion groups, overturned the Mexico City Policy, which barred this funding. Asked to comment on this action, Sen. Daines tied it to Planned Parenthood.
“This is a result of Planned Parenthood spending millions of dollars to get President Biden elected, and now they’re cashing in,” Daines said.
“President Biden rewarded the abortion industry, and he’s using taxpayer dollars to create a slush fund to line their pockets,” Daines said.
“One of my top priorities as Montana’s United States Senator is protecting the unborn,” Daines declares on his website. “The Senate remains the firewall for protecting life against the radical Left’s pro-abortion agenda. I’m going to do all I can to ensure we stand up for the most vulnerable and prevent any tax dollars going to the abortion industry.”