FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 26, 2016
Contact: Mallory Quigley, [email protected], 202-223-8073
Study Published Just as New Details Emerge in Gruesome Born-Alive Abortion Case
Washington, D.C. – A new paper from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Pediatrics finds that among premature babies born at 22 to 23 weeks LMP (20-21 weeks post-fertilization) who are given “active” care, 61 to 71 percent survive.
This is an even higher survival rate than reported last year by the New England Journal of Medicine, fresh evidence that the “viability standard” is a quickly moving target.
The publication came one day after fresh details emerged in the case of a baby being born alive during a failed abortion in Phoenix, AZ. An abortion facility employee can be heard on recently released 911 tapes saying: “The fetus is breathing so we need care for it now…We can’t provide that care except for oxygen and we’re trying to keep the fetus stable until someone arrives.”
“A baby was born alive at 21 weeks and rather than being rushed to the NICU, he suffered, awaiting medical care the abortion clinic was incapable of providing,” said Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “That this child could die with so little national attention speaks to the callous state of our laws on abortion. The status quo espoused by Hillary Clinton – legal abortion-on-demand, up until the moment of birth – is a position most Americans reject. There is well-documented support for legislation granting equal protections for babies born alive after a failed abortion. A majority, especially among women, supports banning altogether late-term abortion after five months. We urge Congress to advance a federal Born Alive Infant Protection Act as introduced by Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Nebr.) and to continue efforts to pass the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.
“The Pain-Capable bill is a line we have set in the sand, and a line GOP Presidential candidate Donald Trump has agreed to. Hillary Clinton has declared that the ‘unborn person’ has no constitutional rights.’ Would she support either of these bills, which would have saved this child? The American people have a right to know the answer in this year of decision.”
Arizona legislators took action in 2012 to protect babies from abortion more than halfway through pregnancy. The state’s Pain-Capable legislation was struck down by a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals panel in 2013 and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case on appeal. Without that obstruction from the judicial branch, this child might be alive today, as many preemies are. The JAMA study is new evidence that these tiny children can and are being cared for with ever greater survival rates.
The Susan B. Anthony List and its Political Action Committees, the SBA List Candidate Fund and Women Speak Out PAC, spent $16.71 million in the 2014 election cycle to defeat pro-abortion incumbents and elect pro-life candidates to federal and statewide office. The SBA List is dedicated to pursuing policies and electing candidates who will reduce and ultimately end abortion. To that end, the SBA List emphasizes the education, promotion, mobilization, and election of pro-life women. The SBA List is a network of more than 465,000 pro-life Americans nationwide.
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