Still no vote on controversial 'Born Alive' bill

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- There was no vote Monday on the controversial "Born Alive" bill in the house.

It's also known as House Bill 602 or the "Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act."

Republican lawmakers put the override vote of Governor Cooper's veto on the calendar Monday but it has been pushed back until at least Wednesday.

Speaker Tim Moore said the rules allow for a bill of any kind to be moved around as much as possible. He said he's going to let that happen until they get the votes.

"I will let the bill move when I think we have the vote to pass it," said Speaker Moore. "The votes were simply not there to override the veto and I hope there are circumstances in the future where we have the votes."

Republicans argue the bill is "not" about abortion.

"This is about a child who is delivered and born, who is outside the womb and alive and we're trying to make sure that child is kept alive," said Speaker Moore. "We want to make sure that a child is not killed once it is born."

Representative Grier Martin said three-fifths of the House has to be present and vote for the measure for the override to happen.

"As long as the speaker keeps putting that bill on the calendar, we never know if it's going to come up or not," said Martin, who represents the state's 34th House District. "We don't know when the House of Representatives is going to take up this issue of great importance."

Kelsea Mclain sat in the rafters Monday just in case there was a vote. She represents Triangle for Choice.

"This Born Alive scenario is something if it happens, it's happening in a hospital setting," Mclain said. "It's happening in a situation where there's already trauma surrounding this birth experience. Republicans wanted to get people to vote against something that seems common sense, that seems compassionate but it's really rooted in stigmatizing abortion even further and demonizing those that provide the care in our communities."

If the bill does get passed, medical professionals could be charged with a felony if they don't follow the law.

There's a national day of action Tuesday to show support for abortion access. It's called #stopthebans.