Babies are born alive in abortions almost every year in Minnesota. In 2021, there were five, according to state health data.
But Democrat lawmakers are advancing radical pro-abortion legislation that would repeal a law requiring medical care for these babies, Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life warned this week.
State House File 91/Senate File 70 passed through committees in both houses and soon could come up for a final vote. With pro-abortion Democrats in control of the legislature, pro-life advocates are concerned the bill could pass.
“This utterly extreme bill would leave virtually no protections for unborn children, at any stage of pregnancy, on the books in Minnesota,” MCCL co-executive director Cathy Blaeser said in January. “Most appalling, though, H.F. 91 would even repeal protections for the life of an infant born alive after abortion, moving Minnesota backward from a community of compassion to one of active and callous cruelty.”
The bill also would repeal abortion reporting requirements, so abortion facilities would no longer have to report to the state if a baby does survive or if its mother gets injured in a botched abortion.
Abortion reports from the Minnesota Department of Health show that babies are surviving abortions almost every year: from 2017 to 2021, state abortion reports show 14 babies were born alive in abortions.
ACTION ALERT: Contact Minnesota state House lawmakers and state Senate lawmakers and urge them to oppose this infanticide bill.
Currently, the state Born Alive Infant Protection Act requires “all reasonable measures consistent with good medical practice, including the compilation of appropriate medical records, shall be taken by the responsible medical personnel to preserve the life and health of the born alive infant.”
Passing the bill basically means infanticide will be allowed for newborns who survived the abortions that were supposed to kill them.
“The bill would allow abortionists to leave newborn babies to die, suffering, without medical care,” according to Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life. “It will likely go to the floor of the House and Senate soon for final votes.”
The pro-life organization urged Minnesotans to call their state legislators and urge them to vote against the “brutal” legislation.
The bill also would remove limits on taxpayer funding for abortions, and repeal informed consent, parental notification for minors and a requirement that abortions be done by licensed medical doctors. Additionally, the bill removes references to a “pregnant woman” and replaces them with “an individual.”
The Minnesota Department of Health reported 10,136 abortions in 2021.
Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, states may protect unborn babies from abortion again. For almost 50 years, the 1973 ruling forced states to legalize abortions for basically any reason up to viability and allowed abortions up to birth. According to NRLC, more than 64 million unborn babies were legally aborted under Roe.
Many state are moving in opposite directions on the issue, with most Republican-led states passing and enforcing laws that protect unborn babies and mothers and most Democrat-led states working aggressively to expand abortions.
Two new polls show growing public support for legal protections for unborn babies. A Marist College poll found 69 percent of Americans support limiting or banning abortions, up from 62 percent in June. Another new poll from UMass Amherst found a 5-percent drop in those who say Congress should pass a law to make abortions legal nation-wide and a 6-percent increase in support for a national abortion ban, WCVB News reports.
ACTION ALERT: Contact Minnesota state House lawmakers and state Senate lawmakers and urge them to oppose this infanticide bill.
