by Luke Sprinkel
Republicans in Congress are working to add new protections in federal law for babies who are born during attempted abortions.
In January of 2023, the Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. According to the bill’s chief author, Congresswoman Ann Wagner, the bill “will provide commonsense protections for innocent children and their mothers and will ensure all babies receive the essential care they need at an incredibly vulnerable moment.”
Over 20 years ago, President George W. Bush signed the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act into law. That law states that any infants born during attempted abortions are considered people under federal law, but the law lacked enforcement mechanisms to ensure such babies are protected.
As such, Republicans in the last several Congresses have introduced the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. This legislation would mandate that infants born during an attempted abortion receive the same standard of care any other infant born at the same gestational age would receive. Furthermore, the bill requires that babies born during an attempted abortion be immediately taken to the hospital.
The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act also establishes criminal penalties for those who fail to protect these babies.
“The Born-Alive Survivors Protection Act is non-controversial legislation,” said Jessica Anderson, the executive director of Heritage Action. “A baby’s right to life and medical care does not change because he or she was born in an abortion clinic instead of a delivery room. [This bill] would require that appropriate medical care be given to any child who survived an attempted abortion and that the child be transported and admitted to a hospital.”
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act in January of 2023 by a vote of 220-210. Among the individuals who voted against the bill was Minnesota Congresswoman Angie Craig.
“This bill isn’t about interfering with a so-called right to abortion,” said a representative from National Right to Life. “It is about stopping infanticide.”
Alpha News reached out to Congresswoman Craig’s reelection campaign to ask why she voted against the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. However, the Craig campaign did not answer any questions for this story.
The Craig campaign was also asked if Rep. Craig believes in any limits or restrictions on abortion. As mentioned, the Craig campaign did not respond.
Craig’s GOP opponent in this year’s election, Joe Teirab, was also contacted by Alpha News regarding this story. While Teirab did not answer any questions on this topic either, a survey from a pro-life organization does indicate where he stands on this issue.
Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL) is the state’s largest and most influential pro-life organization. Earlier this year, they conducted a candidate survey in which they asked candidates running for federal office where they stand on several pro-life issues.
According to that survey, Teirab said he would support the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act as a member of Congress.
After the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act was passed by the Republican-controlled House, the bill was sent to the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate. The Senate has not acted on the bill.
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Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
