Civic Register
| 8.20.19

Should Congress Pass a Bill to Protect Infants Born After Attempted Abortions?

Do you support a bill that would require care for infants born alive after failed abortions?

Before the House of Representatives adjourned for its August recess, the chamber's Republicans made their 80th unanimous consent request to bring the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (H.R. 962) to the floor.

Much like the previous 79 requests, it was denied by the presiding chair. But supporters of the bill have gathered 201 signatures from House lawmakers for a discharge petition which, if it reaches 218 signatures, would force the chamber to vote on the bill.

What would the bill do?

Here's a look at Rep. Ann Wagner's (R-MO) Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (H.R. 962), which has the support of 190 House cosponsors (including 187 Republicans and three Democrats):

  • The bill would require healthcare providers to extend “reasonably diligent and conscientious care” to an infant born alive following an attempted abortion.
  • Healthcare providers would be required to take appropriate steps to save the infant’s life given its age and health, and immediately transport and admit the infant to a hospital.
  • If a healthcare provider fails to comply with those requirements they would face fines and up to five years imprisonment, or potentially murder charges if their actions lead to the born alive infant’s death.
  • The mother of the child that is born alive couldn’t face prosecution under this legislation. She could, however, file a civil lawsuit against the healthcare provider for compensatory and punitive damages.

Wagner's bill would go beyond what Congress did in legislation enacted more than a decade and a half ago:

  • The Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2002 after unanimously passing Congress, clarifies that for the purpose of federal law the terms “person”, “human being”, “child”, and “individual” include every infant born alive — whether the birth is the result of labor, c-section, or induced abortion.
  • However, the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 2002 doesn’t contain its own criminal penalties or enforcement mechanisms to hold abortion providers accountable for failing to provide medical attention and care to infants born alive.

How often are infants born alive after attempted abortions?

States aren't required to report data to the federal government about the subject, but several do so voluntarily or in compliance with state law:

Additionally, a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report found 143 deaths from 2003-2014 from induced terminations of pregnancies, but the data only covers deaths of infants born alive and excludes stillbirths. Additionally, the CDC acknowledged the 143 number could be an underestimate because of unclear data related to whether the case involved premature labor versus a decision to induce labor or terminate a pregnancy.

Those numbers were disputed by a doctor from Physicians for Reproductive Health, who told Fox News:

“These data are likely reflecting cases in which a woman has a wanted pregnancy but is unable to continue it, where she makes the decision with her doctor to end the pregnancy through induction of labor. "

What's the outlook for the bill?

The House's Democratic leadership are unlikely to add the bill to the chamber's schedule, so its backers will likely need the discharge petition to succeed for it to be brought up for a vote.

The Senate previously voted on the bill's companion (S. 311), introduced by Sen. Ben Sasse's (R-NE), but it failed on a 53-44 procedural vote that was subject to a 60-vote threshold.

Several Democrats took to the floor to express their opposition to this bill, with Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) saying it “puts Congress in the middle of important medical decisions that patients and doctors should make together without political interference” and “forces physicians to provide inappropriate medical treatment”.

Republican senators who spoke on the floor expressed dismay at Democrats’ opposition, with Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) responding:

“My colleagues across the aisle are debating a bill that’s not in front of us. They are talking about healthcare for women, which is abortion… This bill does not address abortion. What this bill does is address the healthcare of a baby that is born alive after a botched abortion.”

The Senate could move to reconsider the bill or similar legislation, although no such plans have been announced.

What are "late term abortions"?

  • "Late term abortions" are a colloquial, rather than clinical, term which refers to abortions that occur at or after the earliest fetal viability (the earliest to date is 21 weeks).
  • Between 8,000 and 15,000 late-term abortions (at or after 21 weeks of gestation) are performed in the U.S. each year according to 2015 data gathered by the Centers for Disease Control and the 2008 Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health report.
  • According to the Guttmacher Institute there are 24 states that impose abortion bans after a certain number of weeks, 17 of which ban abortion at about 20 weeks post-fertilization or its equivalent of 22 weeks on the grounds that the fetus can feel pain.
  • Globally, only the U.S., Canada, North Korea, China, Singapore, Vietnam, and the Netherlands allow elective abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy according to Politifact.
  • While it’s often said that women who seek late-term abortions do so because of fetal abnormalities or danger to their life if the fetus was delivered, limited research indicates that isn’t the case. A 2018 Congressional Research Service report quoted Diana Greene Foster, a lead reproductive health investigator at University of California San Francisco’s Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health, as saying she believes abortions for fetal anomaly “make up a small minority of later abortion” and that those for life endangerment are even harder to characterize.


— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: iStock.com / meenon)