The Law And Abortion Survivors: What's The Current Status?

The topic of abortion is a highly debated and sensitive issue that has gained prominence in the political sphere, with recent legislative proposals and debates surrounding the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act in the US. This act aims to provide legal protection for infants born alive during or after an abortion procedure, ensuring they receive the same medical care as any other newborn. While supporters argue that this legislation is necessary to prevent infanticide and provide legal consequences for abortionists, opponents claim that current laws already render the act redundant and that it is a veiled attempt to restrict access to legal abortion. The debate centres around the question of whether infants born alive during abortions are adequately protected by existing laws or if additional measures are required to ensure their survival.

The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act

Overview

Provisions

The Act establishes requirements for the degree of care a health care practitioner must provide if a child is born alive following an abortion or attempted abortion. Specifically, it mandates that:

• A health care practitioner present at the birth must exercise the same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and health of the child as they would for any other child born alive at the same gestational age.
• The child must be immediately transported and admitted to a hospital following the provision of such professional skill, care, and diligence.
• Violators of these requirements are subject to criminal penalties, including fines and/or imprisonment of up to five years.
• A reporting requirement is in place for anyone with knowledge of such violations.
• Mothers are exempt from prosecution under the Act and are allowed to bring a civil action against health care practitioners who violate the legislation.
• An "intentional killing" through an "overt act" would be punishable as murder under existing federal law.

Background

The issue of live births during abortions is a highly sensitive and controversial topic in the United States, with Republicans and Democrats holding opposing views. While Republicans argue that legislation like the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act is necessary to protect babies, Democrats claim that it is unnecessary and aims to restrict access to legal abortion.

Existing homicide laws in the United States already apply to cases of intentional killing of a baby, and infanticide is illegal in all states. However, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act seeks to add uniform federal criminal penalties specifically for health care practitioners who fail to provide appropriate care for infants born alive during abortions.

Statistics

Late-term abortions, which can be performed due to congenital anomalies or fetal abnormalities, are rare. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1.3% of abortions in the U.S. in 2015 were performed after 21 weeks of gestation. However, it is important to note that abortions resulting in live births are even less common.

State Laws

Only 18 states in the United States have robust laws offering protections to babies who survive abortions. Many states with extreme abortion laws do not afford such protection to born-alive infants. As a result, there have been calls for a strong federal law to ensure that all infants who survive abortions are protected, regardless of the state they are born in.

Infanticide is illegal in all 50 states

In 1973, the US Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade that abortion is a fundamental constitutional right. This decision was a watershed moment in US history, and the number of abortions skyrocketed in the following years. In 2000, the Supreme Court further expanded the right to abortion in Stenberg v. Carhart, allowing abortions even when the child is almost completely born. This decision was highly controversial, with many Americans considering it a step towards infanticide.

While abortion laws vary from state to state, infanticide, or the murder of a child in the first year of life, remains illegal across the nation. In recent years, there have been several high-profile cases of babies surviving abortions, sparking further debate about the legal and ethical implications of such cases. In some states, there are robust protections in place for babies who survive abortions, while others have more ambiguous laws that do not explicitly address this issue.

The topic of abortion is highly polarising in the US, with strong opinions on both sides of the debate. While some argue for a woman's right to choose, others emphasise the need to protect the lives of unborn children. The legal landscape surrounding abortion continues to evolve, with states enacting new laws and court decisions shaping the national dialogue.

It's important to note that the discussion of abortion and infanticide is complex and multifaceted. While infanticide is illegal across the US, the specific laws and ethical guidelines surrounding abortion, including late-term abortions, vary from state to state. The impact of these laws on infant mortality rates and access to healthcare is an ongoing area of research and discussion.

The Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 2002

The Act was signed into law by President George W. Bush on August 5, 2002, and passed through the House of Representatives by voice vote and unanimous consent in the Senate. It was first introduced in July 2000 and passed the House with a lop-sided vote of 380-15, but was killed in the Senate. It was reintroduced in the 107th Congress as H.R. 2175 and again passed by voice vote in the House and unanimous consent in the Senate.

The Act does not establish explicit criminal penalties for failing to provide medical treatment to infants born alive during abortion procedures. However, it is important to note that existing homicide laws would apply to cases of a baby being intentionally killed. While infanticide is illegal in every state, the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 2002 did not include federal criminal penalties for healthcare practitioners who fail to provide care.

The Act is significant because it establishes a bright line at birth, ensuring that a child born alive, irrespective of being "pre-viable" or "unwanted", will be accorded the same rights and protections under federal law as any other person. Additionally, it affirms the intrinsic worth and dignity of a child who survives an abortion, irrespective of whether they are wanted by their mother.

Abortion survivors are not a myth

The survival of babies intended for abortion creates legal and ethical dilemmas for abortion practitioners, and there is ongoing debate about the appropriate medical response in these situations. Some argue that abortion survivors should be given the same medical care as any other newborn, while others claim that these situations are rare and that existing laws already protect the rights of babies born alive after abortions.

In recent years, several US states have passed or introduced legislation specifically aimed at protecting abortion survivors, such as the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. This legislation seeks to ensure that babies born alive during abortions receive appropriate medical care and establishes criminal penalties for healthcare providers who fail to provide such care. However, the need for such legislation is disputed, with some arguing that it is unnecessary and restrictive, while others see it as a crucial safeguard for the rights of abortion survivors.

The issue of abortion survivors is highly contentious and often subject to political and ideological manipulation. However, the existence of abortion survivors is not a myth, and their rights and well-being are important considerations in the ongoing debate surrounding abortion laws and ethical practices.

State laws do not always protect babies born alive

While infanticide is illegal in all 50 US states, and existing homicide laws would apply to the intentional killing of a baby, state laws do not always protect babies born alive during abortions.

In 2023, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed a bill into law that updated some of the wording in the state's Born Alive Infants Protection Act, which had been passed in 2015, before Walz was governor. Anti-abortion activists used that edit, which removed the phrase "preserve the life and health of the born alive infant" from the bill, to attack Walz. However, infanticide is illegal in all 50 states, and any medical professional who does not provide adequate care to keep an infant alive against the wishes of the parents would be committing medical malpractice.

In 2019, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam endorsed a permissive late-term abortion bill, dismissing concerns about abortions performed while a woman is giving birth. He explained that "the infant would be delivered; the infant would be kept comfortable; the infant would be resuscitated if that's what the mother and the family desire, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother."

In 2013, a Planned Parenthood lobbyist in Florida opposed the Infants Born Alive Act, saying, "We believe that, you know, any decision that's made should be left up to the woman, her family, and the physician."

In 2017, a former Planned Parenthood medical director said that, in order to determine whether to provide medical intervention for babies born alive during abortions, "You need to pay attention to who's in the room."

In 2013, Minnesota state Sen. Maye Quade, a Democrat, told PolitiFact that in cases where there are lethal fetal anomalies that make it likely the fetus will die before or soon after birth, parents decide to terminate the pregnancy by inducing childbirth. "In those circumstances, the children, the babies that are born are meant to be alive because their parents want to hold them before they die. That is not a failed abortion. Childbirth was the method of abortion in that circumstance," Maye Quade said.

In 2023, Democratic Minnesota state Sen. Maye Quade said that the previous version of the Minnesota law was "requiring these unnecessary and harmful medical interventions for infants that were going to die." "And because of that, parents weren't often able to decide to deliver their children alive," she added.

According to the Charlotte Lozier Institute, only 18 states have laws offering robust protections to babies who survive abortions, although others have recently taken steps to strengthen their laws. However, many of the states with the most extreme abortion laws do not afford such protection to born-alive infants. Alaska, Colorado, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, and the District of Columbia all permit abortion at any time for any reason, yet none of these states has established legal protections for born-alive infants. Some states like New York and Illinois have even enacted laws that eliminated previous protections for babies born alive.

In 2019, a US Senate Bill entitled the "Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act" raised the issue of live birth after abortion. The bill would have mandated that medical providers resuscitate neonates delivered showing signs of life during an abortion process. Existing US laws would punish the intentional killing of a baby as homicide. However, US abortion experts refute the claim that a "born-alive" fetus is a common event and oppose the enactment of laws that would mandate resuscitation against the wishes of the parents.

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