The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act is a proposed United States law that would penalize healthcare practitioners who fail to provide care for an infant that is born-alive from an abortion attempt.[1] It was introduced in the 114th, 115th, 116th, 117th, and 118th Congresses.
Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act
Long title
To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit a health care practitioner from failing to exercise the proper degree of care in the case of a child who survives an abortion or attempted abortion.
Abortion is a contentious political issue in the United States. The abortion-rights movement which argues that a woman's right to privacy and bodily autonomy extends to the right to an abortion, is predominantly upheld by the Democratic Party. The anti-abortion movement, which argues that an embryo or fetus has rights that must be protected by law, is largely upheld by the Republican Party.
The anti-abortion movement has claimed that viable infants have been left to die following failed abortion procedures. On August 5, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, which established that every infant who survives an abortion procedure is considered a person under federal law.[2] However, this law did not establish explicit criminal penalties for failing to treat such infants, and the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act has been introduced in every Congress since the 114th in attempts to remedy it.[needs update]
Following the reversal of federal abortion rights in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the anti-abortion movement has called for federal legislation restricting abortion.[3]Dobbs has been blamed for Republican underperformance in the 2022 midterm elections, so the advancement of such legislation is considered to be politically risky for the Republican Party.[4][5]
Provisions
The bill requires that any infant born from an abortion attempt be given the same amount of care as any other infant born at same gestational age, such as in a preterm birth. Failure for a healthcare practitioner to do can be penalized with up to five years imprisonment under the bill. Violations of the law are required to be reported to a hospital or law enforcement. The bill also authorizes a right to civil action to the mother of which an infant had been neglected care.[1]
Opponents of the bill have called its provisions unnecessary and misleading, with the criminal penalties having the potential to deter a doctor's best judgment.[6]
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