New Research Indicates More Than 1,700 Babies Survive Abortions Every Year

National   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Jan 16, 2023   |   5:31PM   |   Washington, DC

New research from the Abortion Survivors Network suggests babies may be surviving abortions at a rate much higher than most Americans realize.

Examining abortion data from the United States and Canada, the pro-life organization estimated an average 1,734 babies survive abortions every year in the U.S. alone.

The startling estimate comes as Congress debates federal legislation to protect babies who survive abortions from infanticide. The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act passed the U.S. House last week; however, only one Democrat joined Republicans in supporting the bill, and the fate of the legislation is uncertain in the Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate.

The Abortion Survivors Network represents hundreds of known children and adults who are alive today after failed abortion attempts on their lives. However, actual data on the number of babies who survive abortions is scarce.

According to the network, only 10 American states keep track of abortion survivors, and they all have different definitions and standards about what does and does not count as a reportable survival.

“Some states require an infant to have reached a certain gestational age before they may be considered ‘born alive,’” the network found. Other states “have a list of standards, such as umbilical cord pulsation or a beating heart, and others merely state that a born alive infant is an infant alive outside the womb after an abortion procedure.”

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To come up with its estimate, network leaders turned to Canada, which has a socialized health care system and keeps more consistent records about abortion, according to FISM News.

Data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information shows a 0.21 percent failure rate for abortions, meaning the survival rate is about 2.1 for every 1,000 abortions, the network researchers found. They took the survival rate and applied it to abortion numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Johnston’s Archive to come up with an estimated number of abortion survivors in the U.S. each year.

Here’s more from the report:

Sarah Moe, ASN’s Vice President of Public Affairs, recently told Live Action News that, based upon the data analysis, an estimated 1,927 babies were born alive after abortion in the U.S. in 2020 alone. The figure does not include infants who survived the abortion pill [typically used up to 10 weeks of pregnancy, before the baby is viable].

In the past decade, the network estimated an average of 1,734 babies survive abortions every year in America.

Many questions remain, including how many of these children are alive today and how many others may have been neglected and allowed to die.

LifeNews recently examined abortion data from seven states between 2020 and 2022 and found reports of 34 babies who were born alive in botched abortions.

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.

For the past several years, Republicans in Congress have been trying to pass the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which would increase protections for babies who survive abortions. The bill would require that the same basic medical care be provided to babies who survive abortions as would be provided to any other baby born at the same gestational age. It also would impose penalties on medical workers who neglect to provide that care. However, Democrat leaders have blocked the legislation dozens of times.

Research by Tessa Longbons of Charlotte Lozier Institute found that protections for babies who survive abortions are inconsistent across the United States, with fewer than half of states maintaining sufficient protections.

Reports from other countries prove that babies survive abortions, too, and legal protections for them are needed. In Canada, the Canadian Institute of Health Information recorded 766 late-term, live-birth abortions over a five-year period in 2018. And in Australia, the country’s health minister admitted that 27 babies survived abortions in the state of Western Australia between 1999 and 2016. A report out of Ireland also suggests babies are surviving abortions and being left to die there.