- In this heated election year,

senator majority leader, Mitch McConnell,

wants to put each senator on the record

for what Republicans say areextreme views on abortion.

- They're trying to defend something

that's fundamentally indefensible.

- Senator Ben Sasse tells CBN News

his Born-Alive AbortionSurvivors Protection Act,

does exactly that.

- This bill is really simple.

It says that if a babysurvives an abortion,

she has a fighting chance at life,

and we have the obligation to make sure

she gets the same care thatany other baby would get

at that gestational stage.

- [Abigail] And is needed for this reason.

- Right now all that's really prohibited

is if a baby survives an abortion,

you can't take a pillowand put it over her face

and smother her to death butyou can walk away from her

and put her on a cart andwheel her down a hallway

and put her in a closet andleave her to die of exposure

over six or eight or ten hours.

- [Abigail] But Democratminority leader Chuck Schumer

tells CBN News, this law already exists.

And calls the bill extreme and dishonest.

- [Abigail] On theBorn-Alive Abortion Survivors

Protection Act, Senator Sasseargues that this is needed

because under the currentlaw, while you can't outright

kill a baby breathing outsidethe womb, you can neglect it.

What is your response to that?

- We voted on thisbefore, it was defeated.

And there's a law in 2002that is on the books.

- Current law.

- Current law that coverseverything Sasse is talking about.

It's a play to the hard right base.

The American people don't support it.

- [Abigail] Three Democratsjoined Republicans

to vote on the bill that protects babies

born alive after botched abortions.

Democrats Joe Manchin and Bob Casey,

also joined most Republicans

on the bill prohibiting abortions

after five months of pregnancy.

But Republicans Susan Collinsand Lisa Murkowski did not.

- We know at 20-weeks,the science is there,

if not earlier, that there'spain capability of a fetus.

- Republicans believe bringingDemocrats out in the open

on abortion will help them in 2020.

Democrats believe these votes cater

to the GOP's hard right base

and argue the Americanpeople will see through that.

Reporting from Capitol Hill,Abigail Robertson, CBN News.