Post-Birth Abortion Debated During ‘Infants Born Alive’ Bill Hearing

Post-birth abortions were debated during a recent hearing over the “Infants Born Alive” bill. The bill addresses situations where a child is born after a failed abortion and would require doctors to provide medical care for the newborn baby.

Florida has a vehicular homicide law that holds defendants accountable for the death of a “viable fetus,” but this bill would replace that terminology with “unborn child.” Critics of the “Infants Born Alive” bill say that these small changes are intended to slowly take away access to abortion.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, various states in the United States are considering laws that would limit the scenarios in which abortion would be considered a medically viable option.

For example, North Dakota recently defined life as starting at conception. North Dakota lawmakers also put into action a 6-week abortion ban. Interestingly enough, a study also found North Dakota to be the “most free” state while New York is the least.

The Florida House of Representatives was listening to positions on its “Infants Born Alive” bill when Alisa LaPolt Snow, the lobbyist representing the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates, testified that her organization believes post-birth abortion to be a viable option. This would allow the the woman seeking an abortion, and her abortion doctor, to kill an infant who survives a failed abortion and is medically capable of staying alive.

A clip from the full committee hearing, which took place Wednesday, shows Snow being questioned by representatives about the post-birth abortion position. Florida Representative Jim Boyd started this line of inquiry:

“So, um, it is just really hard for me to even ask you this question because I’m almost in disbelief. If a baby is born on a table as a result of a botched abortion, what would Planned Parenthood want to have happen to that child that is struggling for life?”

Planned Parenthood lobbyist Snow responded, “We believe that any decision that’s made should be left up to the woman, her family, and the physician.”

Representative Daniel Davis then asked Snow, “What happens in a situation where a baby is alive, breathing on a table, moving. What do your physicians do at that point?”

“I do not have that information,” Snow replied. “I am not a physician, I am not an abortion provider. So I do not have that information.”

Later on, when Snow is asked, “what objection can you possibly have to obligate a doctor to transport a child alive to a hospital,” Snow replied, “What about those situations …where it’s in a rural healthcare setting where the hospital is 45 minutes to an hour away? There are just some logistical issues involved that we’ve got concerns about.”

What do you think about post-birth abortion as advocated by Planned Parenthood’s representatives during the “Infants Born Alive” bill hearings?