(OSV News) -- The pro-life chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops lauded U.S. House passage of a bill Jan. 23 that would require life-saving medical attention for babies who survive abortion attempts.

But Bishop Daniel E. Thomas of Toledo, Ohio, who chairs the USCCB's Committee on Pro-Life Activities, also decried the U.S. Senate's "stunning failure" to pass a similar bill the day before.

House Bill 21, called the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, states that "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."

The bill says health care professionals are obligated to give survivors of an attempted abortion the same medical care as any other infant born through regular childbirth. They are required to immediately transport and admit such children to hospitals. And medical personnel are mandated to inform federal or state authorities if they have knowledge of anyone failing to comply with the stipulations of the bill.

"The House of Representatives took decisive action to protect innocent babies from infanticide," Bishop Thomas said in a Jan. 23 statement."Babies are being left to die after failed abortions -- denied care and basic human compassion. It is a stunning failure of the Senate to reject this necessary, common-sense legislation -- which, in reality, does not even limit abortion but protects infants who are born alive," he said.

In a Jan. 21 letter urging lawmakers to vote in favor of the protective legislation, Bishop Thomas pleaded the case of the infants who survived attempted abortions but did not get medical attention.

"The tragic risks are not theoretical. Years of testimonies before legislatures, candid recordings, and more have painted a gruesome picture of children, trying to live, being left to die in bags or closets," he stated.

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., a Catholic who is chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, said during debate prior to the vote, "This is humane, pro-child, pro-human rights legislation, and I hope my colleagues on the other side realize these children have great value and they should not be treated like junk."

The House measure passed 217-204 after two roll calls. On Jan. 22, Senate Democrats blocked that chamber's version of the bill, which includes penalties of fines and up to five years in prison, for failing to follow the measure's requirements. It will not advance further because it failed in a 52-47 vote. A 60-vote majority is needed to pass.

Prior to the vote, four Senate Democrats voiced opposition to the bill at a press conference, saying it would make abortion a federal issue and no longer under state jurisdiction. They emphasized abortion is an issue President Donald Trump throughout his presidential campaign said should be left to the states.

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said, "Let's be clear, it is already illegal to kill a baby. We know that. To suggest otherwise is a deliberate and callous smear against providers and patients who find themselves in heartbreaking, traumatic situations."

The senators cited statistics from the Centers for Disease Control showing 143 deaths that resulted from failed abortion attempts between 2003 and 2014.Bishop Thomas noted the same stats in his letter but also said that the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics said this number was likely underestimated due to "vague" language in the cause of death descriptions reported.

A study in Canada published in the American Journal of Obstetric Gynecology in 2024 found over a 22-year period (1989-2021) that out of 13,777 abortions performed during the 15th through 29th weeks of pregnancy, 11% led to live births.

- - - Simone Orendain writes for OSV News from Chicago.