On Wednesday, as we covered, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) introduced the Protecting Life on College Campus Act of 2025, which protects unborn children and their mothers from the dangerous abortion poll on college campuses. On Thursday, just as we previewed he would, Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) is introducing the Senate version. He's also introduced legislation to protect children who are diagnosed with Down Syndrome in utero.
"This year, as we celebrate the 52nd anniversary of the annual March for Life, I’m proud to introduce legislation that will protect the most vulnerable in our society: our unborn children. The radical left has been trying to push an extreme abortion agenda that the American people have resoundingly rejected, and I’m optimistic that our society will once again return to a culture of life that puts family first," Daines said in a statement.
According to Daines' office, the senator is joined by Sens. James Lankford (R-OK), Jim Risch (R-ID), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Ted Budd (R-NC), Jim Banks (R-IN,) John Boozman (R-AR), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Katie Britt (R-AL), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Tim Sheehy (R-MT) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) for the Protecting Life on College Campus Act of 2025. He's joined by Sens. Lankford, Risch, Cramer, Budd, Banks, Boozman, Hyde-Smith, Britt, Hawley, and Sheehy for the Protecting Individuals with Down Syndrome Act.
The bill for protecting babies diagnosed with Down Syndrome is sorely needed, as, according to the senator's office, given that between 60-90 percent of children diagnosed in the United States are aborted. The bill, Daines' office explains, "would make it illegal for a doctor to knowingly perform an abortion being sought because the baby has or may have Down syndrome, and prohibits anyone from forcing a mother to have an abortion because the baby has Down syndrome." He also introduced the bill for the 118th Congress.
The Protecting Life on College Campus Act of 2025 is also necessary, and will prohibit institutions of higher learning from being awarded federal funds if they provide the drug to students or employees. As highlighted in covering Roy's bill, the abortion pill method is a particularly dangerous and misunderstood woman, with vulnerable young women giving birth to their deceased child in their dorm room or campus bathroom, without medical supervision, and at risk for complications.
Daines' office also added key background information about how rampant the issue is on college campuses especially thanks to a 2019 law from California.
"In 2019, California passed legislation requiring campus health clinics at public colleges and universities to provide chemical abortion pills on demand to students starting in 2023. Other states are beginning to follow. The use of chemical abortions has skyrocketed in the past 20 years, increasing from just 5 percent in 2001 to 63% of all abortions in 2023," his office explained, speaking to how alarmingly common such a method is. "Chemical abortions are over 50 percent more likely than surgical abortions to result in an ER visit within 30 days, and as many as one in five women will suffer a complication. The 'Protecting Life on College Campuses Act' would prohibit federal funds from going to any college or university with a campus health clinic that provides abortions and chemical abortions to students and faculty, and would help protect vulnerable young women from dangerous situations," his office continued.
The annual March for Life is taking place this year in Washington, DC on Friday, January 24th. Even with Roe v. Wade having been overturned by the Dobbs v. Jackson decision in 2022, the annual March still occurs in around the same time each year to commemorate the anniversary. Around this time every year especially, pro-life members of Congress introduce such legislation.
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