In the long era of anti-abortion demagoguery, “babies” have been the enduring symbol of Republican caring. They want to defend the rights of babies as persons even before they are born. Or, as former Rep. Barney Frank quipped, “From their perspective, life begins at conception and ends at birth.” And yet congressional Republicans proved beyond doubt last week that they regard living, breathing babies solely as political props, not real human beings with actual needs. […]