House Passes Bill to Protect Babies Born Alive After Failed Abortions

A bill to establish standards of care for babies born alive after failed abortions passed along party lines in the House on Jan. 23. The 217–204 vote followed a heated debate in the chamber, during which Republicans stressed that the bill was not about abortion but the babies who survive the procedure. “As a physician, it is beyond my comprehension that anyone would not intervene to save an innocent and defenseless human life,” Rep. Gregory Murphy (R-N.C.) said, defending the bill on the House floor. “Neglect is harm. Neglect is immoral. Abortion is not the issue.” The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act requires medical professionals present at a newborn abortion survivor’s birth to provide the same level of life-saving care to that baby as would be offered to any other premature infant of the same gestational age....