Gail Kerr, Columnist For The Tennessean

Tennessee lawmakers who fight for laws to “choose life” now want to cut funding that helps keep the babies alive once they are born.

Have they no shame? No moral compass whatsoever? Tennessee ranked an abysmal 47th in the nation for the number of babies who die before their first birthday in 2003, and Gov. Phil Bredesen dedicated $4.6 million — matched dollar for dollar by federal money — to stop that.

Guess what Senate Republicans stripped from the state budget late last week? Yep. The folks who fight abortion as immoral and anti-Christian don’t seem to care too much what happens once a mother gives birth. Can you imagine how they’ll explain that on Judgment Day?

“Well, Lord. It was like this. We believe life begins at conception, and we’re against ending those lives. Once the babies are born? You’re on your own, kiddo. It’s a tough world. And we don’t tolerate slackers.”

It’s heartbreaking hypocrisy.

“If you are going to have a baby, let’s give that baby a fighting chance,” said Bob Duncan, head of the Governor’s Office of Children’s Care Coordination, which is on the chopping block. “This is real stuff. This is lives that are being saved and babies getting a chance to live. It just breaks my heart to know what is going to
happen.” If the Senate’s budget passes, this office will close.

What is going to happen? Newborns are going to die. It’s that simple. Politicians cannot hide the chilling statistics: In 2006, nine out of every 1,000 babies born in Nashville died before their first birthday. Today, thanks to this program that rate is down to six out of 1,000 births.

“There are three babies alive today that wouldn’t have been in 2006,” Duncan said.

Preventing Answers

It’s progress. But it’s not enough. The money state senators cut is used to methodically study infant mortality across the state. Area by area, why are babies dying?

“We basically can do a community review of every infant death, the community issues, the family issues, all the systems that could have intervened,” said Dr. Bill Paul, head of the Metro Health Department.

Using an evidence-based practice — meaning it has been proved to work — the state funds programs at nonprofits, hospitals and health departments that treat pregnant mothers so babies are born on time, not prematurely, and at a healthy weight. And they continue monitoring and offering services after the baby is born. Specific examples include prenatal vitamins, nutrition counseling, help quitting smoking, regular physician visits and distribution of safe bassinets.

How can any reasonable person turn that into a political football? It’s one thing to get into a fistfight in the waning days of the legislative session over projects like a fish hatchery and museums.

But this? If the house doesn’t put the money back, Senate Republicans will have balanced the state budget on the fragile backs of newborns, who cannot vote. And Tennessee babies will keep dying.

Pro-life? Really?