Analysis

Reports from just five states reveal over 100 babies born alive during abortions in recent years

newborn, preemie, born alive

Abortion reports from just five states reveal that over 100 babies were born alive following abortion attempts in recent years. Since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion throughout the US, stories about the so-called “dreaded complication” — a term abortionists have used to describe babies surviving abortions — have surfaced.

Though many abortion advocates have denied that infants survive abortion, reporting agencies have already disclosed information proving that it still occurs, and just this month, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) introduced legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives aimed at protecting abortion survivors by ensuring they receive care after birth instead of medical neglect.

Image: Babies Born Alive after abortion, Selected States

Babies Born Alive after abortion, Selected States

For decades, those committing abortion have either actively killed abortion survivors or left them to die without care. And yet, this practice of infanticide should not come as a shock when it has been endorsed by eugenically-minded abortion supporters. As Live Action News previously reported, eugenicist Garrett Hardin, a  founding member of NARAL, stated, “If abortion did not solve the planning problem there was always infanticide to fall back on….” 

Looking at the data, it is clear that Hardin’s words echo still today. Despite only a handful of states requiring abortionists to report infants who survive abortion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data reviewed by the Charlotte Lozier Institute found that “nationwide, between 2003 and 2014 at least 143 babies died after being born alive during botched abortions, though the CDC also states this could be an underestimation.”

Below are a handful of examples:

Arizona

Thirty-seven reports involving a “fetus or embryo delivered alive after an abortion” have been submitted to Arizona’s health department, along with the physician’s statement documenting the measures taken to preserve the life of the preborn child since 2017: (15 in 2019, 12 in 2018, and 10 in 2017).

Florida

Live Action News previously documented that in Florida, 27 babies were reported as born alive during abortions between 2015 and August 2020. Four of the 27 were born alive in 2020.

Michigan

Although there have not been any reports of “evidence of life” following abortions in Michigan in recent years (2019, 2018, 2017, 2016), from 2008 to 2015 the state reported that 12 babies were known to have survived abortions: one in 2015, two in 2013, one in 2012, five in 2011, one in 2010, one in 2009, and one in 2008.

Minnesota

The State of Minnesota uses the term “comfort care” in its reports but in each case admits the infant did not survive. Since 2015, at least 19 babies have been known to have survived abortions in the state. More by year below…

2019:

  • In one instance, fetal anomalies were reported, but residual cardiac activity was present at two minutes. Care was transferred to the second medical doctor. No measures to preserve life were reported and the infant did not survive.
  • In one instance, comfort care measures were provided as planned, and the infant did not survive.
  • In one instance, the infant was previable. No measures to preserve life were reported and the infant did not survive.

2018:

  • In one instance, APGAR score was 1 at one and five minutes. There were anomalies deemed ‘incompatible with life’. No measures to preserve life were reported and the infant did not survive.
  • In one instance, comfort care measures were provided as planned and the infant did not survive.
  • In one instance, the infant was previable. No measures taken to preserve life were reported and the infant did not survive.

2017:

  • In one instance, the APGAR score was 1/1. No measures were taken and the infant did not survive.
  • In one instance, comfort care measures were provided as planned and the infant did not survive.
  • In one instance, no specific steps to preserve life were reported and the infant did not survive.

2016:

  • In one instance, residual, transient cardiac contractions were briefly present. No measures were taken to prolong these contractions and the infant did not survive.
  • In two instances, the infants had been diagnosed with lethal fetal anomalies. No efforts were made to preserve their lives and neither survived.
  • In two instances, comfort care measures were provided as planned and neither infant survived.

Live Action News previously reported that in the state in 2015, five infants survived abortion procedures, according to a report of induced abortions presented to the legislature.

Texas 

Since 2015, 13 babies were reported as born alive following abortions in Texas, and six were reported born alive in 2019 alone, according to the latest published data available.

As a result, State Representative Jeff Leach released a statement on his social media accounts (Facebook and Twitter), calling for state officials “and the appropriate law enforcement agencies, with the full weight and force of Texas law” to “investigate and unleash holy hell on those responsible for these heinous crimes.”

Rep. Leach was a sponsor of the Texas Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, passed by lawmakers in 2019.

Image: Aborted babies born alive Texas 2015 to 2019

Aborted babies born alive Texas 2015 to 2019

There is no indication who committed these abortions in Texas, but years ago, three former staffers from a Houston abortion facility graphically detailed how they saw an abortionist kill babies after they survived abortions:

 

Today, the term “dreaded complication” has been replaced by a new euphemism: “after-birth abortion.” Popularized in a 2012 paper entitled, “After-birth abortion: why should the baby live?published by the Journal of Medical Ethics, the authors claimed “fetuses and newborns do not have the same moral status as actual persons.” 

Offering medical assistance to a child that is born alive, even after a failed abortion, should not be controversial. Perhaps 2021 will be the year Congress will finally act.

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