Washington, DC—Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3) last week voted to support H.R. 21, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, legislation he cosponsored to protect the right to life by ensuring that infants born alive after an attempted abortion receive the same standard of care as any other newborn.

Congressman Womack said, “Life is a sacred gift worth protecting. Babies who’ve suffered from an attempted abortion must receive the highest standard of care to have a chance at survival after birth. It’s our moral responsibility. This bill requires healthcare practitioners to administer lifesaving medical care to all babies, regardless of the circumstance. I will continue to fight to protect the vulnerable and the fundamental right to life.”

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While federal law establishes that every infant who survives an abortion is considered a person, it does not hold medical professionals responsible when they elect not to help these newborns.
H.R. 21 requires that healthcare practitioners who are present at a live birth following an abortion or attempted abortion must provide necessary skill and care to preserve the life and health of the child. After those efforts, the healthcare worker must immediately transport and admit the child to a hospital.
- Failure to provide this standard of care could result in criminal penalties for an offending healthcare provider, including fines and up to five years in prison.
- Further, a healthcare practitioner who intentionally kills or attempts to kill an abortion survivor is subject to prosecution for murder.
This legislation also bars prosecution of the mother of the child born alive and authorizes mothers of abortion survivors to bring a civil cause of action against a healthcare provider who violates this standard.