Mark Green on Abortion Former Republican Representative (WI-8, 1999-2007)

A fetus is a human being with rights

Abortion is a tough, personal issue that has been mishandled by political leaders of all persuasions. However, principled policy can be accompanied by authentic care and sensitivity.

While the politics swirl in debate, accusations, anger and frustration, the fact remains that the developing baby is a human being. The Bill of Rights, assuring us all due process, applies to that child. He or she has a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness like anyone of us, no matter how conceived.

Mother and fetus are two distinct people, even before birth

In 1973, the US Supreme Court ruled that a woman's right to privacy outweighs the science of embryology. Court cases--such as the Laci Peterson murder trial--find the defefandant guilty of a double homicide for killing both the mother & her unborn child. The inconsistency here is obvious.

The mother's immune system sees the baby's blood as a foreign intruder. It makes complete sense. While mother and baby have lots of similarities, they are, in fact, distinct beings. Half the DNA comes from the father making the baby distinct and different from the mother.

Voted NO on allowing human embryonic stem cell research.

• Call for stem cells to be taken from human embryos that were donated from in vitro fertilization clinics
• Require that before the embryos are donated, that it be established that they were created for fertility treatment and in excess of clinical need and otherwise would be discarded
• Stipulate that those donating the embryos give written consent and do not receive any compensation for the donation.

Voted YES on restricting interstate transport of minors to get abortions.

• Allowing for exemptions to the law if the life of the minor is in danger or if a court in the minor's home state waive the parental notification required by that state
• Allocating fines and/or up to one year imprisonment of those convicted of transporting a minor over state lines to have an abortion
• Penalizing doctors who knowingly perform an abortion procedure without obtaining reasonable proof that the notification provisions of the minor's home state have been satisfied
• Requiring abortion providers in states that do not have parental consent laws and who would be performing the procedure on a minor that resides in another state, to give at least a 24 hour notice to the parent or legal guardian
• Specifying that neither the minor nor her guardians may be prosecuted or sued for a violation of this act

Voted YES on making it a crime to harm a fetus during another crime.

Voted YES on banning partial-birth abortion except to save mother’s life.

Voted YES on forbidding human cloning for reproduction & medical research.

Voted YES on funding for health providers who don't provide abortion info.

Voted YES on banning Family Planning funding in US aid abroad.

Voted YES on banning partial-birth abortions.

Voted YES on barring transporting minors to get an abortion.

Rated 0% by NARAL, indicating a pro-life voting record.

For over thirty years, NARAL Pro-Choice America has been the political arm of the pro-choice movement and a strong advocate of reproductive freedom and choice. NARAL Pro-Choice America's mission is to protect and preserve the right to choose while promoting policies and programs that improve women's health and make abortion less necessary. NARAL Pro-Choice America works to educate Americans and officeholders about reproductive rights and health issues and elect pro-choice candidates at all levels of government. The NARAL ratings are based on the votes the organization considered most important; the numbers reflect the percentage of time the representative voted the organization's preferred position.

Sponsored bill to protect infant survivors of abortion.

S.311/H.R.962: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act: Congress finds the following:

• If an abortion results in the live birth of an infant, the infant is a legal person for all purposes under the laws of the United States, and entitled to all the protections of such laws.
• (2) Any infant born alive after an abortion or within a hospital, clinic, or other facility has the same claim to the protection of the law that would arise for any newborn, or for any person who comes to a hospital, clinic, or other facility for screening and treatment or otherwise becomes a patient within its care.
• In the case of an attempted abortion that results in a child born alive, any health care practitioner present at the time the child is born alive shall exercise the same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and health of the child as a reasonably diligent and conscientious health care practitioner would render to any other child born alive at the same gestational age.

Opposing argument from Rewire.com, "Born Alive Propaganda," by Calla Hales, 4/12/2019: From restrictive bans at various points of pregnancy to a proposed death penalty for seeking care, both federal and state legislators are taking aim at abortion rights. The goal? To make abortion illegal, criminalizing patients and providers in the process. One kind of bill making a recent resurgence is the "Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act." These bills aim to further the false narrative that abortions regularly occur immediately before or, according to the president, at the time of birth. Intentional action to end the life of an infant is already illegal. This is covered by federal and state infanticide laws. These bills do nothing but vilify physicians who provide reproductive health care.

Legislative outcome Referred to Committee in House; Senate motion to proceed rejected, 56-41-3 (60 required).