Month: February 2026

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Protect Born-Alive Abortion Survivors

newborn

June 24, 2022 was an historic day of celebration for pro-life supporters. It’s the day the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decided that the U.S. Constitution does not confer a right to abortion and overruled Roe v. Wade, the decision which promoted this “right” into law in 1973! However, in rewriting abortion law in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, SCOTUS did not ban abortions. Rather the court effectively ruled thatregulating abortion was a matter for individual state governments.

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As a result, pro-life advocates anticipated a decline in abortion rates given existing or new state laws restricting abortion. These laws range from total bans with no exceptions; bans with exceptions for the life of the mother, rape, incest, or the baby’s medical condition; restricting abortions after a specified number of weeks; to absolutely no restrictions allowing abortions up until the moment of birth. However, contrary to expectations, abortions have increased since the Dobb’s decision. For example, the Society for Family Planning’s #WeCount project estimated a national total of roughly 1.14 million abortions in 2024, the largest number of abortions in the U.S. in recent years.

Consequently pro-life advocacy to save unborn babies is as active as ever. One significant battleground circles around what happens to the survivor babies who are born alive after a bungled abortion. Should survivors be cast aside to die or should they be treated as any other patient?

According to Susan B. Anthony Pro-life America, polling indicates that 77% of voters support legislation to ensure that a baby who survives an unsuccessful abortion be given the same medical treatment as any other baby born prematurely at the same age. So the question arises as to why six sessions of the United States Congress—dating back to 2015—have failed to pass the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act? This bill, pending in the 119th Congress, requires the same degree of care as would reasonably be provided to any other child born alive at the same gestational age and is compatible with the polling results of three-quarters of voting Americans. The bill also penalizes health-care practitioners with up to five years imprisonment, requires health care practitioners and hospital employees to report violations to law enforcement authorities, and gives the mother of the abortion survivor a civil cause of action against the abortionist and protection from prosecution.

In applauding the passage of the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act in the House of Representatives on January 23, 2025, Congresswoman Wagner of Missouri declared:

“Innocent children deserve the opportunity to live and thrive – period. It’s up to us to be the voice for these babies who are at their most vulnerable and ensure they get the love and care they need,” . . .

Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana also commended the bill’s passage in the House:

“This isn’t a partisan issue, but a moral one. With this legislation, House Republicans are standing up for our most vulnerable Americans and defending the sanctity of life.”

Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma, introduced the Senate version of the bill with these words:

“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.”

Senate Majority Leader, John Thune of South Dakota, a strong proponent of the infinite dignity and value of those born and unborn, is committed to continuing his fight in Congress to defend those who cannot speak for themselves. True to his pro-life pledge he also spoke in support of the bill:

“We should all be able to agree that a baby born alive after an attempted abortion must be protected, and yet I fully expect that later today my Democrat colleagues will vote no on this legislation,”

As Thune anticipated, the Senate bill met with opposition in the form of a filibuster from senators blocking passage of the bill. The vote of 60 or more Senators needed to override this procedural obstruction remains elusive. Until this happens the bill is dead in the water.

          Opponents of the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act give two primary reasons why Senators are so determined to block its passage. Here are reasons and rebuttal for each argument:

  1. REASON: The bill is redundant because the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 2002 already protects babies born-alive after an abortion.

REBUTTAL: The 2002 law has no requirements that abortion survivors be provided with appropriate care or transferred to a hospital, and there is no enforcement or reporting mechanism if the law is violated. As a result, many health-care practitioners act with impunity when they fail to provide any care to abortion survivors and leave them to die.

2. REASON: Born-alive babies are a rare occurrence.

    REBUTTAL: Declaring the incidence of born-alive survivor babies as rare is disingenuous and appears irrefutable because there are no federal reporting requirements and only a handful of states require reporting. However, there are several sources that report significant numbers of live birth abortions in the U.S.:

    • 284 between 1997 and 2024 recorded by states with mandatory reporting.
    • 143 between 2003 and 2014 recorded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Note: this count does not include babies who survived attempted abortions and are still alive.
    • 66 between 2013 and 2024 recorded by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (a mandatory reporting state).
    • 700 identified by the Abortion Survivors Network.

    Supporters of the bill recognize that mandatory reporting is critical. Dr. Willard Cates, a former head of the CDC Abortion Surveillance Unit, makes this clear with his observation: “live births after an abortion are often hidden by abortionists because admitting to them is ‘like turning yourself in to the IRS for an audit.” Furthermore, Congressman Mike Lee of Utah reminded us that we must recognize the humanity of these precious children and make every effort to save their lives, . . .”

    It’s definitely easier to pretend that this atrocity is not happening in America. But ignoring the problem will not make it go away. Please call your Senator and demand legal protection and medical care for these defenseless abortion survivors. Every baby born alive deserves medical care and legal protections. Please call now to implore Senators break the filibuster and allow the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act to receive the favorable votes waiting to be cast.

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