Arkansas Senate approves legislation protecting babies who survive botched abortions
The Arkansas Senate has passed a bill that would require doctors to provide medical care to babies who survive after failed abortion attempts.
The Senate voted 34–0 on Thursday in favor of approving the Senate Bill 148 or "born-alive infant protection" measure, The Associated Press reported. The bill, which was introduced by Sen. Gary Stubblefield, is now headed to the state House for consideration.
Under the legislation, in case an abortion results in a live birth, the doctor would be required to notify the mother, provide immediate medical care to the child and call 911 if the procedure was not conducted in a hospital. Those who are found to be in violation could face up to six years' imprisonment or a fine of up to $10,000.
U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse introduced a similar bill at the federal level in Congress last month. He said that the measure is needed because current federal law does not provide adequate protection for babies born alive after botched abortions.
The U.S. House passed the bill last year, but it did not move forward in the Senate. Sasse reintroduced the bill with the hopes that it will pass this time around, with Republican majorities in both houses.
The measure would require health care practitioners to provide the same degree of professional skill and care to infants who survive botched abortions as any other babies at that stage of life, according to Life News.
"Every baby deserves care and the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act is a rare opportunity to find common ground and protect newborns," the senator said in a statement.
"We all know that every little boy and girl deserves a fighting chance and, if you've ever held a newborn or just walked past a NICU, you know this has nothing to do with your politics and everything to do with your heart," he added.
Sasse's bill aims to strengthen the Born Alive Infants Protection Act, which was passed during the administration of President George W. Bush. The measure came after nurse Jill Stanek testified before Congress about finding a baby who was born alive after a failed abortion attempt and left to die at a Chicago-area hospital.