“When an infant clings to life after an abortion procedure, doctors have a duty to care for that child. The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act would protect these defenseless boys and girls. There’s no reason Congress should delay in sending it to the president’s desk.”
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Jim Banks (R-Ind.) in introducing the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.
“When an infant clings to life after an abortion procedure, doctors have a duty to care for that child. The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act would protect these defenseless boys and girls. There’s no reason Congress should delay in sending it to the president’s desk,” said Kennedy.
“No child should be denied medical care simply because they are ‘unwanted.’ Today, if an abortion procedure fails and a child is born alive, doctors can just ignore the crying baby on the table and watch them slowly die of neglect. That’s not an abortion, that’s infanticide,” said Lankford.
“I’ve always fought to defend the unborn and will continue to do so in the Senate. It’s unconscionable that we even need such a law, but it’s essential to protect the most vulnerable among us. Now that Republicans have control of both chambers of Congress and the most pro-life President in my lifetime, we have the opportunity to see this important bill signed into law,” said Banks.
The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act would require health care providers to preserve the lives of infants who survive an abortion with the same care they would give to any other child born at the same gestational age. The bill would also require health care providers to transport the infant to a hospital.
The bill would also:
- Require health care workers to report failures to provide proper care to born-alive infants to the appropriate law enforcement agency.
- Penalize anyone who fails to provide proper care to born-alive infants with a fine or imprisonment.
Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Roger Wicker, (R-Miss.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), John Curtis (R-Utah), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) also cosponsored the legislation.
The full bill text is available here.