A Western Australian legislator is trying to find answers about why 27 babies were born alive after abortions and left to die, in violation of the law.
Nick Goiran, a Liberal MP from Western Australia, recently presented a petition with 7,000 signatures to parliament calling for an investigation of the babies’ deaths, Eternity News reports.
“The law of Western Australia is actually OK – it’s just not being followed or implemented. It is contrary to law for these babies not to be provided with care and medical attention; it is contrary to law for these matters not to be reported to the Department of Child Protection and for the Coroner not to investigate,” Goiran said.
Goiran has been trying to find answers about these babies’ deaths for years. He said he repeatedly asked for reports about the born-alive infants, but the Department of Health has refused to produce them.
According to the report:
It is through Goiran’s questions in parliament since 2011 that the Health Minister revealed that 27 babies in WA survived abortion between 1999 and 2016. The majority were late-term abortions – 15 were between 20-25 weeks and six were 26 weeks or later.
The earliest known premature baby to survive was 21 weeks and four days; so it is possible that many of the babies could have survived if treated. Studies indicate many premature babies now are surviving at 23 weeks.
“Health practitioners tell us that in Western Australia the protocol is that if the baby is 23 weeks or more, then they engage with all the resources that are available and the skills and so on. It’s a call to action at 23 weeks or more,” Goiran told Eternity.
“We know that there were at least six that were 26 weeks or more, so why were those six Western Australian babies given a lesser standard of care than other Western Australian babies at 26 weeks or more?”
Some speculated that the later-term unborn babies probably were aborted because they had fatal disabilities, and they would have died anyway. However, Goiran said none of the government agencies have produced any evidence of this.
Here’s more from the report:
Goiran says that if the panel is confident that the conditions the babies had justified the termination, there should be no reason why that can’t be explained to the public.
“I very much suspect that the reasons have been kept secret because it continues to be the case that that are allowing these late-term abortions for conditions that are compatible with life. And that is distressing if that is the case.”
SUPPORT LIFENEWS! If you like this pro-life article, please help LifeNews.com with a donation!
Goiran presented a petition with 7,000 signatures urging a government investigation. The Coalition for the Defence of Human Life organized the petition.
“The point I will make is this is a matter that ought to be investigated – these babies were born alive and neglected and left to die, and every child born is entitled to care,” said Dwight Randall, president of the pro-life organization.
This is not a freak occurrence in Western Australia. A 2016 study of Quebec, Canada found that 216 babies were born alive in abortions and left to die between 2000 and 2012.
Previously, the blog Run with Life reported that, from 2000 to 2009, 491 babies were born alive following failed abortion procedures and subsequently left to die in Canada. And those are only the ones that are recorded by Statistics Canada.
In the United States, the Born Alive Infants Protection Act, signed into law by pro-life President George W. Bush, protects such babies. It came into existence after pro-life nurse Jill Stanek noticed babies born alive and left to die at a Chicago-area hospital.
LifeNews has documented dozens of cases of babies who were born alive after failed abortions and survived. Melissa Ohden, Gianna Jessen and Claire Culwell are just a few examples. The three women are strong pro-life advocates who speak across the world about how their lives are valuable, even though they almost were killed in the womb by abortionists.
