House Passes 'Born-Alive' Measure, First Anti-Abortion Bill in the Post-Roe v Wade Era

House Republicans passed the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act on Wednesday, which marks the first anti-abortion bill to be given following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

GOP members used their new majority to push through a largely symbolic bill that would mandate health care providers to provide proper care to infants born after an attempted abortion. However, the measure comes as health providers are already legally obliged to act to provide medical services to any infant who was born at any gestational age.

House Republicans Pass Born-Alive Anti-Abortion Measure

The House's new measure also penalizes the "intentional killing" of what is considered a "born-alive child," an act that is already illegal under American law. The Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, enacted in 2002, says that any child born at any stage of development, including potentially after an abortion, should be considered a "person" and a "human being" and is entitled to the same legal protections and rights.

The measure passed 220-210 with the support of Republicans but has virtually no chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate. The only House Democrat that did not support abortion rights, Rep. Henry Cuellar, voted in support of the Republican Party's born-alive measure, as per Axios.

The primary difference between the 2002 law and the recent measure is that the latter implements penalties for healthcare providers who refuse to "preserve the life and health of the child."

Healthcare providers could face up to five years of imprisonment under the new bill and be tried for murder if they are determined to have "intentionally" killed or attempted to kill a child through abortion. Furthermore, providers can face legal actions from the person on who the abortion was performed or, at least, tried.

In 2020, 93.1% of abortions were performed on women at or before 13 weeks of their pregnancy, 5.8% were conducted on pregnant patients between 14 and 20 weeks, and 0.9% were performed at or after 21 weeks of pregnancy. The figures came from the most recent numbers released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Restriction of Abortion Access

According to CNN, after the measure's passing, opponents argued that the act restricts abortion access by threatening health care providers. The new act also comes after Democrats have tried to make abortion one of, if not their most pressing issue during the midterm elections following the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe.

In a statement on Tuesday, NARAL Pro-Choice America criticized the new bill and several others. Officials said that these types of measures showed that House Republicans are publicly rejecting the desire of the overwhelming majority of United States citizens who voted in support of legalizing abortion in November.

The president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, Mini Timmaraju, said that their Democratic representatives who support reproductive freedom in the House were ready and willing to fight to restore and expand abortion access to all Americans. The House also voted to pass a separate measure on Wednesday condemning "recent attacks on pro-life facilities, groups, and churches."

A sponsor of the born-alive measure, Rep. Ann Wagner of Missouri, praised the bill's passing. She said that regardless of the circumstances of a newborn infant's birth, everyone had the right to share the miracle of life and receive proper, life-saving medical care, The Hill reported.