CONTACT: Christopher Krepich, 202-225-5101
Washington, D.C.— Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner (WI-05) released the following statement after supporting H.R. 4712, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act:
“All human life is sacred and deserving of legal protection, no matter how young or small. This legislation ensures that every child who survives an attempted abortion receives the same emergency medical treatment as any other newborn child. It also holds accountable any medical professional who neglects, or even worse, takes action to kill a child. I am proud to support it and will continue to defend all human life.”
Background:
In 2002, President George W. Bush signed the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act into law after it passed Congress unanimously. This law recognizes personhood for human children born alive.
The 2002 law, however, did not provide any enforcement measures against medical practitioners who neglect survivors of attempted abortions. After a botched or failed procedure, the fate of these children is left up to the abortionist. All too often, such as in the case of late-term abortionist Kermit Gosnell, survivors of the brutal procedure are killed or left to die.
The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act requires healthcare practitioners to provide the same level of care to an abortion survivor as would be reasonably provided to any other child born at a similar stage of development. The bill also requires that a surviving child is immediately transported and admitted to a hospital.
Medical practitioners who fail to meet the bill’s requirements face new criminal penalties. H.R. 4712 also gives women legal recourse against those who do not comply with the law.
