It extends legal protection to an infant born alive after a failed attempt at induced abortion. It was signed by President George W. Bush . Passed Senate by unanimous consent July 18, 2002. The original author of the bill was Congressman Charles T. Canady of Florida who had by then retired from Congress.
The Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 2002 ("BAIPA" Pub.L. 107–207 (text) (pdf), 116 Stat. 926, enacted August 5, 2002, 1 U.S.C. § 8) is an Act of Congress. It extends legal protection to an infant born alive after a failed attempt at induced abortion.
^ President Signs Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, White House press release, 2002-08-05. Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) United States v. Vuitch (1971) Roe v. Wade (1973) Doe v. Bolton (1973) Bellotti v. Baird I (1976)
The " Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act ," a piece of legislation that echoed existing laws and medical practices, had little chance of passing in the Senate on Monday evening. And as predicted, it ultimately failed.
It became law on Aug. 5, 2002. It defined a “person” (or “human being,” “child” and “individual”) for the purposes of any act of Congress or any agency ruling/regulation as “every infant member ...
Six states require some reporting on abortions that result in a baby born alive: Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, Oklahoma and Texas.
The senator’s website says the recent bill would require that if “ a botched abortion results in the live birth of an infant, health care practitioners must exercise the same degree of professional skill and care to protect the newborn as would be offered to any other child born alive at the same gestational age.”.
In 2013, for instance, Kermit Gosnell was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of three babies born alive in his Philadelphia abortion clinic and one count of involuntary manslaughter for the death of a woman whom he treated.
Democrats say the legislation was unnecessary and aimed at restricting access to legal abortion, while Republicans say it was about protecting babies. President Donald Trump escalated the rhetoric in a tweet that claimed, ...
Violators could be fined and/or jailed for up to five years. There’s also a reporting requirement for anyone with knowledge of such violations. Another provision bars mothers from being prosecuted under the bill and allows mothers to bring a civil action against health care practitioners who violate the legislation.
Existing homicide laws would indeed apply to a case of a baby being intentionally killed, but the “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act” raised questions about a complicated and sensitive topic that is likely to be a focus in the 2020 presidential election.
Sen. Mazie Hirono from Hawaii called the bill "a solution in search of a problem.". Only six states are required to report data on so-called "born-alive" infants, according to a 2016 report from the Charlotte Lozier Institute, an anti-abortion research group.
That shift in rhetoric was evident during Monday's debate. Nearly every Republican senator who argued in the bill's favor mentioned Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam's comments on very late-term abortion, invoking his remarks to imply the embattled Democrat supports infanticide.
The push for the legislation is part of an ongoing attempt by Republicans to shift the debate on reproductive rights to focus on so-called late-term abortions, an area of the abortion debate that's more controversial than others.