Wisconsin Assembly Passes Bill to Stop Infanticide, Protect Babies Born Alive After Abortions

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   May 15, 2019   |   5:25PM   |   Madison, WI

The Wisconsin state Assembly has a passed a bill to stop infanticide and provide medical care and treatment for babies who survive abortions.

The GOP-majority Senate would also have to approve the bill, although that is expected. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said he anticipates floor votes in his chamber in June.

However, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a pro-abortion Democrat, said he will veto a bill to require doctors to provide medical care to infants who survive abortions. He claims the bill is unnecessary.

Currently, 19 states do not have laws requiring medical care for babies born alive after botched abortions, according to research by Americans United for Life. The Wisconsin State Journal reported in 1982 that two babies survived abortion attempts in Madison and later died.

“Under the bill, abortion providers would be required to care for babies that survive an abortion. Failure to do so would be a felony punishable by up to six years in prison and a provider convicted of killing such a baby would face life in prison,” according to news reports.

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Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control, as well as the personal testimonies of nurses and abortion survivors themselves, indicate that babies do sometimes survive abortions. According to the CDC, at least 143 babies were born alive after botched abortions between 2003 and 2014 in the U.S., though there may be more.

However, research by the American Center for Law and Justice estimated the number is much higher, at least 362 between 2001 and 2010.

Here’s more:

Our analysis is further supported by data from Canada that shows in the last reported ten years, “491 babies were left to die after they were born alive during abortions.”  A look at how these statistics are recorded by Canada’s official recording agency (also using ICD-10 code P96.4), explained here and here, further confirms the data recorded by the CDC.  In Britain it is reported that 50 babies are born alive as the result of botched abortions each year.  Additionally, an “estimated 44,000 abortion survivors” are living in the United States today.

Interestingly, one of Planned Parenthood’s own leaders once unintentionally admitted the need for such legislation. In 2013, during a hearing in the Florida legislature, Planned Parenthood lobbyist Alisa LaPolt Snow said the mother and doctor should be allowed to decide if a born-alive infant receives medical care. In other words, the baby could be denied medical care and left to die.

As the Weekly Standard reported:

“[I]t is just really hard for me to even ask you this question because I’m almost in disbelief,” said Rep. Jim Boyd. “If a baby is born on a table as a result of a botched abortion, what would Planned Parenthood want to have happen to that child that is struggling for life?”

“We believe that any decision that’s made should be left up to the woman, her family, and the physician,” said Planned Parenthood lobbyist Snow. . . .

Rep. Jose Oliva followed up, asking the Planned Parenthood official, “You stated that a baby born alive on a table as a result of a botched abortion that that decision should be left to the doctor and the family. Is that what you’re saying?”

Again, Snow replied, “That decision should be between the patient and the health care provider.”

Pro-life lawmakers are working to crack down on infanticide across the nation. States including, Kentucky and Texas, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Alabama are moving forward with legislation to require basic medical care for newborns. Some states never have passed laws to protect abortion survivors, while at least one other, New York, recently repealed its law requiring medical care for infants who survive abortions.