Abortion survivor
Born-alive abortion, is a rare situation when a failed induced abortion attempt of the fetus leads to live birth of an infant. The infants born this way are sometimes referred to as abortion survivors.[1] It should not be confused with post abortion survivor syndrome.
Definitions[edit]
Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 2002 describes a born-alive infant as "the complete expulsion or extraction from his or her mother of that member, at any stage of development, who after such expulsion or extraction breathes or has a beating heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles, regardless of whether the umbilical cord has been cut, and regardless of whether the expulsion or extraction occurs as a result of natural or induced labor, cesarean section, or induced abortion."[2]
Incidence[edit]
Between the years 2003 and 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed death certificates from those states that report it and found that at least 143 infants were born alive and subsequently died after an attempted induced abortion. 97 of those deaths involved a maternal complication or, one or more congenital anomalies.[3][2] Among 10,177 abortions in Minnesota during 2017 three resulted in an infant born alive. According to Minnesota Department of Health one infant was put under palliative care, another was given no specific care; and the third had a low APGAR score. None of the infants have survived.[2]
In June 2016 it was reported that 27 babies were born after failed abortion attempts in Queensland hospitals in 2015, and died later after not receiving care.[4] In the Australian state of Victoria, 52 babies were born alive after failed late-term abortions in 2007.[5][6]
Since the fetal viability is generally considered to begin at about 24 weeks of pregnancy and only about 1.3% of abortions in the US in 2015 were performed in or after the 21st week of pregnancy. Furthermore, many of the late-term abortions are performed because the fetus has a fatal condition or the pregnant woman's life or health is at severe risk. During late-term abortions a drug may be injected to stop the fetal heartbeat before the fetus comes out of the womb. In other cases, suction devices and other instruments end the fetus's life before it is removed. Due to these reasons it has been stated that abortions resulting in live births are very rare.[7]
Care[edit]
If medical staff observe signs of life, they may be required to provide care: emergency medical care if the child has a good chance of survival and palliative care if not.[8][9][10] Induced fetal demise before termination of pregnancy after 20–21 weeks gestation is recommended by some sources to avoid this and to comply with the US Partial Birth Abortion Ban.[11][12][13][14][15] Induced fetal demise does not improve the safety of an abortion procedure and may incur risks to the health of the woman having the abortion.[12]
Legal situation[edit]
In the US Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 2002 is an Act of Congress. It extends legal protection to an infant born alive after a failed attempt at induced abortion. It was signed by President George W. Bush. "Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act" was a bill that would have required doctors to provide the same care for a baby born alive after a failed abortion attempt as they would for any child of the same gestational age. Health care practitioners who failed to comply with the requirements would face a fine and up to five years in prison. The bill was introduced by Ben Sasse (R-NE) in 2017, but it did not make it out of committee. Marsha Blackburn, then a House member, sponsored a similar bill in 2017, which passed the House but not the Senate. It was reintroduced by Sasse in 2019, but it gathered a 53–44 vote mostly on party lines and failed to overcome the filibuster. Opponents of the bill stated that the bill was aimed at discouraging doctors from performing legal abortions and that it was unnecessary because a similar law already exists, the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 2002.[16]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ "The failed abortion survivor whose mum thought she was dead". BBC News. 2018-06-05. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "The Facts on the Born-Alive Debate". factcheck.org.
- ↑ "Health Policy Data Requests - Mortality Records with Mention of Termination of Pregnancy". www.cdc.gov. 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
- ↑ "Rise in Queensland babies surviving late-term abortions, figures show". ABC News. 2016-06-15. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
- ↑ Zwartz, Barney (2010-10-06). "Aborted babies 'being left to die'". The Age. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
- ↑ "THE CONSULTATIVE COUNCIL ON OBSTETRIC AND PAEDIATRIC MORTALITY AND MORBIDITY ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR 2006" (PDF). Health.vic.gov.au. Department of Health & Human Services (Victoria). July 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 7, 2008. Retrieved February 12, 2017. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Grady, Denise (2019-02-27). "'Executing Babies': Here Are the Facts Behind Trump's Misleading Abortion Tweet". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
- ↑ Nuffield Council on Bioethics (2007). "Critical care decisions in fetal and neonatal medicine: a guide to the report" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
Under English law, fetuses have no independent legal status. Once born, babies have the same rights to life as other people.
Unknown parameter|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Gerri R. Baer; Robert M. Nelson (2007). "Preterm Birth: Causes, Consequences, and Prevention. C: A Review of Ethical Issues Involved in Premature Birth". Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Understanding Premature Birth and Assuring Healthy Outcomes. Archived from the original on 31 December 2015.
In 2002, the 107th U.S. Congress passed the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 2001. This law established personhood for all infants who are born "at any stage of development" who breathe, have a heartbeat, or "definite movement of voluntary muscles", regardless of whether the birth was due to labor or induced abortion.
Unknown parameter|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Chabot, Steve (5 August 2002). "H.R. 2175 (107th): Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 2002". govtrack.us. Archived from the original on 14 November 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
The term "born alive" is defined as the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of that member, at any stage of development, who after such expulsion or extraction breathes or has a beating heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of the voluntary muscles, regardless of whether the umbilical cord has been cut, and regardless of whether the expulsion or extraction occurs as a result of natural or induced labor, cesarean section, or induced abortion.
Unknown parameter|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Practice Bulletin: Second-Trimester Abortion" (PDF). Obstetrics & Gynecology. 121 (6): 1394–1406. June 2013. doi:10.1097/01.AOG.0000431056.79334.cc. PMID 23812485. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 November 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
With medical abortion after 20 weeks of gestation, induced fetal demise may be preferable to the woman or provider in order to avoid transient fetal survival after expulsion.
Unknown parameter|s2cid=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 12.0 12.1 Higginbotham Susan (January 2010). "Clinical Guidelines: Induction of fetal demise before abortion" (PDF). Contraception. 81 (6): 462–73. doi:10.1016/j.contraception.2010.01.018. PMID 20472112. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 November 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
Inducing fetal demise before induction termination avoids signs of live birth that may have beneficial emotional, ethical and legal consequences.
Unknown parameter|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Committee on Health Care for Underserved Women (November 2014). "Committee Opinion 613: Increasing Access to Abortion". Obstetrics & Gynecology. 124 (5): 1060–65. doi:10.1097/01.aog.0000456326.88857.31. PMID 25437742. Archived from the original on 28 October 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
"Partial-birth" abortion bans – The federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 (upheld by the Supreme Court in 2007) makes it a federal crime to perform procedures that fall within the definition of so-called "partial-birth abortion" contained in the statute, with no exception for procedures necessary to preserve the health of the woman...physicians and lawyers have interpreted the banned procedures as including intact dilation and evacuation unless fetal demise occurs before surgery.
Unknown parameter|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "2015 Clinical Policy Guidelines" (PDF). National Abortion Federation. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 August 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
Policy Statement: Medical induction abortion is a safe and effective method for termination of pregnancies beyond the first trimester when performed by trained clinicians in medical offices, freestanding clinics, ambulatory surgery centers, and hospitals. Feticidal agents may be particularly important when issues of viability arise.
Unknown parameter|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Milliez Jacques (2008). "FIGO Committee Report: Ethical aspects concerning termination of pregnancy following prenatal diagnosis". International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics. 102 (1): 97–98. doi:10.1016/j.ijgo.2008.03.002. PMID 18423641.
Termination of pregnancy following prenatal diagnosis after 22 weeks must be preceded by a feticide.
Unknown parameter|s2cid=ignored (help) - ↑ North, Anna (2019-02-25). "Republicans are bringing back a bill to protect "abortion survivors"". Vox. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
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