Ohio is one of 19 states in the U.S. that does not require any protection for babies born alive after botched abortions. Some of the states never passed laws prohibiting infanticide for babies who survive abortions, while at least one other, New York, recently repealed its law requiring basic medical care for abortion survivors.
Legislators in Ohio want to ensure their state is no longer on that list.
Today, the Ohio Senate passed Senate Bill 155, the Abortion Pill Reversal Act and Senate Bill 208 , the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act by a vote of 23-10 and 24-9 respectively.
SB 208, the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act would require abortionists to provide life-saving care if a baby is born alive during an abortion and creates reporting requirements to record such cases. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a study last year showing that 588 babies were born alive after induced abortions nationally between 2003-2014.
“The Born-Alive Infant Protection Act, which would ensure that no child who survives an attempted abortion is left alone to die. This critical piece of legislation might make the difference between life and death for an abortion survivor. ”
Right now, pro-abortion Democrats in Congress are blocking bills in the U.S. House and Senate to protect newborns from infanticide. The Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act would require that babies born alive after failed abortions receive the same basic medical treatment as any other baby born at that gestational age.
That makes it more important for states to pass their own anti-infanticide laws.
New attention was drawn to the plight of abortion survivors when Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said only a woman and her doctor should be allowed to decide whether the infant receives medical care. He also defended a bill in the Virginia legislature that would have legalized abortions up to birth – even if there are no risks to a woman’s physical health. The bill later was defeated in committee.
Later Northam doubled down on his support for infanticide via a spokesman, who essentially said the governor was talking about cases with disabled babies. Then the governor said he had no apologies for promoting infanticide.
Data reports from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) show the incidence of born-alive abortion survivors who are killed in the U.S. According to Congressional testimony:
Data that the CDC collects also confirms babies are born alive after attempted abortions. Between the years 2003 and 2014 there were somewhere between 376 and 588 infant deaths under the medical code P96.4 which keeps track of babies born alive after a “termination of pregnancy.”
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The CDC concluded that, of the 588 babies, 143 were “definitively” born alive after an attempted abortion and they lived from minutes to one or more days, with 48% of the babies living between one to four hours. It also admitted that it’s possible the number is an underestimate.
We know it is an underestimate because these are just reported numbers from hospitals, not abortion facilities. Gosnell is only one abortionist who was responsible for “hundreds of snippings” of born-alive babies, yet he did not report even one. His numbers alone exceed the “definitive” numbers of the CDC.
Senate Bill 155, the Abortion Pill Reversal Information Act, would build on existing informed consent laws to require abortion facilities to inform women that chemical abortions can possibly be reversed to save their unborn child’s life.
“Women who have taken the first chemical abortion pill deserve to know that Abortion Pill Reversal is an option to save the life of their unborn child. We know that many women experience intense regret after an abortion, and in this limited circumstance and in a very limited time period, they need to know they may still have a choice and a chance to save their baby,” said Stephanie Ranade Krider, Vice President of Ohio Right to Life. “The Abortion Pill Reversal Act helps makes that potentially life-saving option more accessible by giving women information on where to turn for help.”
Since both Senate Bill 155 and Senate Bill 208 have been passed in the Ohio Senate, both bills now move to the House.
“Ohio Right to Life is so grateful to see these important pieces of legislation pass the Ohio Senate,” says Stephanie Ranade Krider, Vice President of Ohio Right to Life. “We thank Senate President Larry Obhof for his proven leadership and commitment to promoting and defending the right to life, and we are grateful to Senator Terry Johnson and Senator Peggy Lehner for bringing these bills forward.”
