Recent changes to abortion reporting laws in Minnesota have sparked debate as the state eliminates the requirement for abortion providers to report cases of infants being born alive during abortions.
Under previous state laws, abortion providers were mandated to report instances when a baby survives an abortion procedure and a live birth occurs. Additionally, any measures taken to save the infant’s life were required to be reported. But under new Minnesota law, this will no longer be required.
A previous requirement stipulating that medical measures be taken to “preserve the life and health” of newborns who survive abortions has been repealed. The new law instead implements a broad mandate that simply requires these infants to be provided with “care.”
Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL), a prominent advocacy group, responded to the new legislation with a statement explaining the effects of the new law.
“In support of repealing the protection for newborns, some lawmakers falsely claimed that the repealed language required inappropriate or futile attempts to save the infants’ lives. Instead, the repealed law simply required “reasonable measures consistent with good medical practice.” Disabled babies, whose lives are often devalued, could be especially at risk from the denial of this basic protection.”
-Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life Statement
Furthermore, MCCL Co-Executive Director Cathy Blaeser stated, “Minnesota lawmakers have revoked basic protection for newborn babies, and now the fate of newborns who survive abortion will be hidden from the public. Why do lawmakers want to keep us in the dark? This appalling extremism is not what Minnesotans asked for. Our elected officials must restore protection for newborns who are at risk.”
Efforts on a federal level to protect babies that survive abortions have been attempted numerous times. However, conservatives have failed to enact such legislation. Congress has repeatedly deliberated on the “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act,” a bill aiming to ensure that babies surviving abortions receive the same level of care as infants born alive at the same stage of gestation. Despite multiple votes on the matter, the bill has not been successfully passed into law.
This piece first appeared at TPUSA.
