On Friday, President Trump signed into law the “Born Alive” executive order which orders the Health and Human Services Department to ensure that federally funded facilities provide life-saving medical care for infants who survive abortions.

“Every infant born alive, no matter the circumstances of his or her birth, has the same dignity and the same rights as every other individual and is entitled to the same protections under Federal law,” the order mandated. 

To many, it may seem absurd that the right to emergency care for newborns requires federal legislation however last year, Democrats in the Virginia legislature presented a bill that would allow abortions up to the point of birth. In an interview with WTOP defending the bill, Governor Ralph Northam addressed the very real possibility that such an abortion would result in the baby being alive after the abortion.

“The infant would be delivered, the infant would be kept comfortable, the infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired,” Northam said. “And then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.”

Similar legislation was also passed in New York State.

Planned Parenthood claimed the problem is non-existent.

“It seems this administration will once again seek a solution to a nonexistent problem. An executive order like Donald Trump described would only spread misinformation, shame people who get abortions, and try to score low-hanging political points,” said Jacqueline Ayers, vice president of government relations and public policy at Planned Parenthood Action Fund, according to The Hill.

There were, in fact, 143 infant deaths related to being born alive after abortions between 2003 and 2014, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The executive order comes after House Democrats rejected Republicans’ attempt to recommit legislation that would have required medical care for infants who survive abortions.

The act mandates that:

• A health care practitioner who is present must (1) exercise the same degree of care as reasonably provided to another child born alive at the same gestational age, and (2) immediately admit the child to a hospital. The bill also requires a health care practitioner or other employee to immediately report any failure to comply with this requirement to law enforcement.
• A person who violates the requirements is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, up to five years in prison, or both.
• Additionally, an individual who intentionally kills or attempts to kill a child born alive is subject to prosecution for murder.

The bill does not introduce any new obstacles to obtaining a legal abortion, even through the third trimester. Neither does it criminalize a woman for seeking an abortion. The bill aslo allows for increased federal funding for neonatal research.

It is interesting to note that Joe Biden, the Democratic candidate, supports abortion. This seems to contradict his claim to being a “practicing Catholic” and in October 2019, Biden was denied communion, a Catholic ritual, due to his pro-abortion platform.

It is important to emphasize that Abortions and assisted suicides are both explicitly against the Noahide Law which prohibits the spilling of blood.

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