FACTS
President Trump announced Wednesday that he will sign an executive order to protect babies born alive after failed abortion attempts. The Born Alive Executive Order, announced at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast (NCPB), would increase funding for neonatal research and guarantee appropriate medical care for every baby born.
“Today I am announcing that I will be signing the born alive executive order to assure that all precious babies born alive, no matter their circumstances, receive the medical care that they deserve. This is our sacrosanct moral duty.”
President Donald Trump at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast
Between 2003 and 2014 there were 143 recorded cases of babies born after failed abortions, and it was reported that it is “not necessarily a crime” for medical personnel to not provide medical care to infants with severe abnormalities after failed abortions.
LEFT
The Left claims “abortions late in pregnancy are rare and most involve severe fetal anomalies or risks to the life of the mother.” They criticize the Right for dramatizing the “already wrenching medical decision” with inflammatory and non-factual language and say that protection for babies is already in place. The New York Times called the executive order the “latest battle in the nation’s continuing war over abortion.”
“It seems this administration will once again seek a solution to a nonexistent problem. Health care providers already have an obligation to provide appropriate medical care.”
Jacqueline Ayers, Vice President of Government Relations & Public Policy at Planned Parenthood
Brett Samuels, a reporter with The Hill, wrote that most pregnancies “are terminated because the fetus was not expected to survive or the mother’s life was at risk.”
RIGHT
The Right praises Trump’s executive order and argues that while “killing a baby after birth” may already be technically illegal, bills in place do not include “civil or criminal penalties” for doctors who withhold care. Leonard Leo, co-chairman of the Federalist Society and president of the NCPB, stated that the president “has fiercely defended the culture of life in this way more than any other president in my own lifetime.”
“We thank President Trump for his dedication to the right to life and for working to protect all innocent human life. He is a champion for the most vulnerable among us and committed to guarding the right to life of all babies—born and unborn.”
Carol Tobias, President of National Right to Life
Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE), sponsor of the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, said the move is a step in the right direction: “This is really simple: every baby deserves a fighting chance. Whether she’s born in a state-of-the-art NICU or an abortion clinic in a strip mall, these babies deserve medical care and dignity.”
dear @realDonaldTrump i just did a facebook live thanking you for your born alive executive order. here is a clip of it. i was born in an abortion clinic but did not die. i have cerebral palsy. i have a feeling that if we should meet, you would give me your arm to steady me. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/XaSGe11aQz
— gianna jessen (@giannajessen) September 23, 2020
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