President Donald Trump announced today he will be signing a Born-Alive Executive Order “to ensure that all precious babies born alive, no matter their circumstances, receive the medical care that they deserve.” The executive order, once signed, will legally protect babies born alive after a failed abortion.
An Illinois nurse, Jill Stanek, first revealed in 2000 an aborrent practice at Oak Lawn's Christ Hospital of allowing babies born alive whose parents would rather have aborted them being left alone to die in a soiled utility room. Stanek's efforts to protect those babies were rejected by Illinois' Democrat-controlled General Assembly. She wrote about her experiences with once-Illinois Senator Barack Obama, who adamantly opposed protecting the innocent late term babies.
The full text of the order Trump is signing today has not been released but it is expected to be similar to the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act that would provide for criminal penalties for abortionists who fail to provide proper medical care for babies who survive abortions. Democrats in Congress refused to pass this legislation more than 80 times, allowing abortionists to essentially get away with infanticide. Through petition signatures and fax campaigns, Liberty Counsel has delivered over 14,500 names to House and Senate members urging them to support the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.
Speaking at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, President Trump called this “our sacrosanct moral duty.”
President Trump said, “We believe in the joy of family, the blessing of freedom and the dignity of work and the eternal truth that every child born and unborn is made in the holy image of God. I will always protect the vital role of religion and prayer in American society, and I will always defend the sacred right to life.
The president also stated that his administration is increasing federal funding for neonatal research “to ensure that every child has the very best chance to thrive and to grow.”
Abortion survivors are not “hypothetical.” Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control, as well as the personal testimonies of nurses and abortion survivors themselves, provide evidence that babies survive abortions. According to the CDC, at least 143 babies were born alive after botched abortions between 2003 and 2014 in the U.S., though there likely are more. The CDC also notes that this number is likely underestimated because of unclear terminology and a lack of understanding about spontaneous abortions.
In addition to the CDC’s findings, several states report that babies are born alive after botched abortions. In 2017, Florida reported that 11 infants were born alive following an abortion, and six were born alive in 2018. Arizona reported that 10 fetuses or embryos were born alive after an abortion in 2017 and Minnesota reported that three babies were born alive following an abortion in 2017.
In addition, during the preliminary criminal hearing for Liberty Counsel’s client Sandra Merritt, the undercover journalist who exposed Planned Parenthood’s trade in baby body parts, an expert in stem cell research testified that various studies involving baby human hearts had to have been conducted while the hearts were still beating when cut out. In other words, the babies had to have been born alive.
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “We applaud President Trump for once again protecting the lives of precious babies that have survived an abortion and are fighting for life. If this protection is not implemented, the abortionist simply backs away from the table and leaves the baby to suffer and die. We must continue the fight to make the womb a safe place once again in America.”
