New Congressional Bill Protects Babies Who Are Born Alive After Botched Abortions

National   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Jan 25, 2017   |   6:35PM   |   Washington, DC

U.S. Senator Ben Sasse reintroduced the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act on Wednesday in Congress amid strong hopes that the bill will pass this time around.

Last year, the U.S. House passed the bill, but it did not move forward in the Senate. With Republican majorities now in both houses, the life-protecting measure appears much more likely to pass.

“Every baby deserves care and the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act is a rare opportunity to find common ground and protect newborns,” the Nebraska Senator said in a statement. “We all know that every little boy and girl deserves a fighting chance and, if you’ve ever held a newborn or just walked past a NICU, you know this has nothing to do with your politics and everything to do with your heart.”

The bill would protect newborns who survive abortions by requiring appropriate care and admission to a hospital. When an abortion results in the live birth of an infant, the bill would require health care practitioners to provide the same degree of professional skill and care to any other infant at that stage of life.

Sasse said the bill is needed because current federal law does not adequately protect babies born alive after botched abortions.

“I’m grateful that the House passed this legislation last Congress and I look forward to working with my Senate colleagues to put this on the President’s desk this Congress,” Sasse said.

Though abortion activists often deny it, babies sometimes are born alive after failed abortion attempts. Nurse Jill Stanek became a nationally-known figure after she testified to Congress about finding a baby who was born alive after a botched abortion and left to die at a Chicago-area hospital.

Stanek’s experience shocked and horrified millions of people, and her testimony helped to pass the Born Alive Infants Protection Act under President George W. Bush. Sasse’s bill would strengthen this legislation.

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Stanek quickly learned that her experience was not unique. Live Action News reports another nurse also tried to save a baby who survived a botched abortion at a hospital in southern California.

In February 2016, LifeNews also reported a baby was born alive after a botched abortion at a late-term abortion facility in Phoenix, Arizona. The baby later died at the hospital.

A 911 audio file, obtained by NBC 11 in Arizona, confirmed that the abortion clinic staff saw the 21-week baby was alive and breathing before it died. Reports did not indicate whether the baby was a boy or girl.

One of the nurses said she saw the baby move more than 10 minutes after it was taken from the womb, according to KPNX 12 News. When the nurse took the baby to weigh it on a scale, she said she saw it move and struggle to breath. “Oh my God, this fetus is moving,” she said, according to police.

Though abortion advocates sometimes deny that babies survive abortions, LifeNews has documented dozens of cases of babies who were miraculously born alive after failed abortions. Melissa Ohden, Gianna Jessen and Claire Culwell are just a few examples. The three women are strong pro-life advocates who speak across the country about how their lives are valuable, even though they almost were killed in the womb by abortionists.

In March 2016, Ohden shared her story during a U.S. Senate Judiciary hearing, and urged lawmakers to support the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.

“What I would hope that comes out of this is not only that more children like me are protected and given proper medical care when we survive, but that women receive education,” Ohden told CNSNews.com following her testimony. “Let’s talk about the truth, the truth behind how children feel pain, the truth about what abortion does, the truth of what abortion is.”

Abortion activists also testified against the bill during the same hearing. Diana Greene Foster, a professor and researcher at the University of California San Francisco, told the committee women and doctors should be the ones to decide whether babies born alive after failed abortion attempts should receive potentially life-saving medical care.

Federal government reports indicate that a number of babies may have survive failed abortions. In 2011, the CDC recorded 1,298 cases of infant death in the U.S. due to “Other perinatal conditions,” which includes ICD-10 category P96.4, death subsequent to a failed “termination of pregnancy.”

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