Wisconsin Senate Passes Bill to Stop Infanticide, Provide Medical Care for Babies Who Survive Abortions

State   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Sep 28, 2021   |   3:03PM   |   Madison, Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Senate passed a bill Tuesday to protect newborn babies who survive abortions from infanticide.

Sponsored by state Sen. Roger Roth, R-Appleton, the Born Alive Abortion Survivor Act (Senate Bill 16) passed in a 19-12 party-line vote, the AP reports.

The bill would require abortionists and any health care provider to give the same degree of medical care to a baby who survives an abortion that they would to any other child born at the same gestational age. It also would require that the baby be transferred to a hospital for further care. Anyone who violates the legislation could be charged with a felony, fined up to $10,000 or both.

“Regardless of the circumstances of how a baby comes into this world, he or she must have the same rights and protections that you and I have,” Roth said earlier this month.

He criticized Gov. Tony Evers, a pro-abortion Democrat, for vetoing similar legislation in 2019 based on the false claim that it “interfered between patients and their healthcare provider.”

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“What the governor misunderstood is that these newborns are the patients,” Roth said. “They are fighting for their survival and have no ability to advocate for themselves – which is why this bill is so critical for us to act on their behalf.”

Organizations that support the legislation include Wisconsin Right to Life, Wisconsin Family Action and the Wisconsin Catholic Conference. Those opposed include the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault, according to the report.

Babies do survive abortions, though no one is sure exactly how many. In America, most states do not keep track of abortion survivors, but a few do.

Between 2016 and 2018, three states reported 40 babies were born alive after botched abortions. According to the state health data, 11 babies were born alive in Minnesota, 10 in Arizona and 19 in Florida. Texas reported six babies were born alive in botched abortions in 2019. In Michigan, state health reports from 2008 through 2013 indicate that 11 babies were born alive after abortions.

Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control, as well as the personal testimonies of nurses and abortion survivors themselves, also provide evidence that babies 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 likely are more.

A report from Charlotte Lozier Institute shows that protections for babies who survive abortions are inconsistent across the United States, with fewer than half of states maintaining sufficient protections.

For the past several years, Republicans in U.S. Congress also have been trying to pass the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which would increase protections for babies who survive abortions. However, Democrat leaders blocked the legislation dozens of times.