
Last week, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-NC, led Republican colleagues in introducing the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (SB 6). This bill would ensure that newborns surviving abortions would receive care from healthcare providers.
“Ensuring that newborn babies receive medical care, regardless of the circumstances, should not be a divisive issue,” Tillis said in a press release. “It is unconscionable that there are situations where health care professionals might not make every effort to save a life when the need arises. This commonsense legislation is crucial for protecting the lives of newborns, and I am committed to fighting for the life and well-being of babies who survive abortions.”
In 2002, the Born Alive Infants Protection Act was enacted, legally recognizing a newborn as a person from the moment of birth if any signs of life are present, regardless of the circumstances of the birth. However, the law does not mandate protection for these infants, leaving a gap that permits the practice of withholding care from infants who survive an abortion. SB 6 addresses this issue by establishing clear standards for care, hospital transfer protocols, mandatory reporting requirements, legal recourse for mothers, and reasonable criminal penalties for healthcare professionals who fail to comply with the law.
“If an abortion results in the live birth of an infant, the infant is a legal person for all purposes under the laws of the United States, and entitled to all the protections of such laws,” reads the bill. “Any infant born alive after an abortion or within a hospital, clinic, or other facility has the same claim to the protection of the law that would arise for any newborn, or for any person who comes to a hospital, clinic, or other facility for screening and treatment or otherwise becomes a patient within its care.”
This is not the first time a congressional bill of this nature has been introduced. In 2023, Sen. John Thune, R-SD, introduced a similar bill, but it was never voted on. Rep. Anne Wagner, R-MO, also introduced a companion bill which passed in the House.
A similar state-level bill passed the North Carolina General Assembly in 2019, SB 359, but it was vetoed by Gov. Roy Cooper and an override failed in the North Carolina House. The North Carolina Senate passed it again in 2021 as SB 405, but it was not taken up by the House.
The post Tillis introduces Abortion Survivors Protection Act first appeared on Carolina Journal.
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