This week, President Trump confirmed that he will sign an executive order offering extra protection for babies who survive an abortion. The Born Alive Executive Order, which he announced during a pre-recorded speech that was played at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, aims to fulfill the country’s “sacrosanct morality.”
He said that all children are made in the image of God, whether they are born or unborn, adding: "I will always protect the vital role of religion and prayer in American society, and I will always defend the sacred right to life."
The order ensures babies who are born alive, including those with disabilities and those born extremely prematurely, will receive the medical care they need. Although Trump did not provide the specifics of the order in the speech, similar proposals seen earlier this year in the Senate and House would require that health care professionals treat babies who are born alive following attempted abortion the same way that any other newborn would be treated.
Deputy Assistant to the President Jennifer Lichter spoke to CBN News’ Faith Nation to discuss the executive order. She said that the goal of the order is to ensure that every baby born alive, regardless of the circumstances, is treated with dignity.
She told CBN News that the Secretary of Health and Human Services has been told to ensure that every hospital that receives federal funding is aware that it is obligated to screen and treat every baby born alive, no matter how early. HHS is also being instructed to vigorously enforce this rule.
The Chairman of Liberty Counsel, Mat Staver, praised the move, saying: "If this protection is not implemented, the abortionist simply backs away from the table and leaves the baby to suffer and die. We must continue the fight to make the womb a safe place once again in America."
According to Liberty Counsel, Democrats in Congress have refused to pass such legislation on more than 80 occasions, allowing abortionists to essentially commit infanticide without repercussions.
A bill signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2002 extended legal protection for infants who are born alive at any stage of development, and this included following an attempted abortion. However, a lack of enforcement provisions meant it did not carry a lot of weight.
Proposed legislation known as the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which was considered this year and in 2019, included criminal consequences for medical professionals who violated the 2002 law. It came after the Democratic governor of Virginia, Ralph Northam, suggested during a live interview that mothers and doctors should be allowed to deny medical care to newborn babies who survive abortion.
The bill would require babies who are born alive in abortion clinics to be brought to a hospital for treatment; penalties for intentionally killing a baby in these circumstances could be up to five years in prison.
Better funding for neonatal research also provided by executive order
Trump’s new executive order will also provide funding for neonatal research that can increase the survival rates of these babies. Unfortunately, Lichter said that they have heard lots of reports of hospitals telling parents there’s nothing they can do for many babies who are born prematurely and that many do not even try to help babies in these circumstances.
Trump’s move is a very welcome one, but it is also a reminder of the sad state we are in when bills and executive orders are needed to encourage healthcare professionals – whose very job it is to protect life - to save all babies who are born alive.
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