The House voted Friday to pass House Bill 4712, the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. The vote landed on the same day as the 45th annual March for Life in Washington, D.C.

All House Republicans voted in favor of the bill. All Democrats voted against, except for five. They are Matt Cartwright of Pennsylvania, Henry Cuellar of Texas, Jim Langevin of Rhode Island, Dan Lipinski of Illinois and Collin Peterson of Minnesota.

The bill requires abortionists to treat a victim of abortion born alive with the same care as “any other child born alive at the same gestational age.” It also requires them to admit the baby to a hospital right away. 

A health care provider who fails to do this could be fined or serve time in prison. Anyone who kills a baby born alive following an abortion procedure could be prosecuted for murder. 

Last week, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) noted mothers “will not be held criminally accountable” under the bill. 

“This is about protecting babies who are born and alive,” he said in a statement published by Townhall. “Nobody should be against that.”

Pro-life organization Susan B. Anthony List praised the passage of the bill Friday. President Marjorie Dannenfelser also called on the Senate to pass the bill. 

“We urge the Senate follow their colleagues’ lead and pass the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act as well as the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would end cruel late-term abortions after five months of pregnancy,” she said in a statement.

National Review reported that as of last week, the Senate hadn’t scheduled a vote on the bill. According to Congress.gov, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) introduced the bill last January.

The Bill Follows Congressional Investigation of Planned Parenthood

Rep. Marsh Blackburn (R-TN) introduced the House bill in December. As Townhall reported, she also chaired a House panel that investigated Planned Parenthood and its affiliates. And the resulting report notes abortionists alter their procedures at times, the better to obtain fetal tissue for illegal sale. This can result in more infants being born alive after abortion, and left to die.

Last March, an undercover video by Center for Medical Progress seemed to confirm this. The video features Dr. DeShawn Taylor, a former Planned Parenthood director from Arizona. One investigator notes that the state’s law requires infants born alive after abortion to be transported to a hospital. 

The investigator asked if there was a “standard procedure for verifying signs of of life.” Taylor answered, “you need to pay attention to who’s in the room, right?”

Update: Democrat Rep. Tim Walz of Minnesota originally voted in favor of House Bill 4712. He tweeted on January 19, 2018 that his vote in favor of the pro-life measure was an “honest mistake.”