3 senators introduce bill to protect infants born alive after abortion

CV NEWS FEED // In an effort to safeguard vulnerable infants who have survived an attempted abortion, Senators John Kennedy (R-La.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), and Jim Banks (R-Ind.), recently introduced the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. 

The proposed legislation aims to mandate that healthcare providers administer the same level of care to infants born alive after an abortion as they would to any other child born at the same gestational age, according to a Jan. 16 press release from Kennedy’s office.

“No child should be denied medical care simply because they are ‘unwanted,’” said Lankford. “Today, if an abortion procedure fails and a child is born alive, doctors can just ignore the crying baby on the table and watch them slowly die of neglect.”

Additional provisions of the bill include requirements for health care workers to report any failures to provide proper care to born-alive infants to law enforcement and penalties for non-compliance, which may include fines or imprisonment.

The bill would also mandate the transport of abortion survivors to a hospital for further treatment.

Kennedy stressed the moral imperative behind the bill.

“When an infant clings to life after an abortion procedure, doctors have a duty to care for that child,” he said. “The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act would protect these defenseless boys and girls. There’s no reason Congress should delay in sending it to the president’s desk.”

A total of 39 Republican senators have co-sponsored the legislation.

“It’s unconscionable that we even need such a law, but it’s essential to protect the most vulnerable among us,” said Banks. “Now that Republicans have control of both chambers of Congress and the most pro-life President in my lifetime, we have the opportunity to see this important bill signed into law.”