President Trump announced on Wednesday that he intends to sign an executive order aimed at protecting babies born alive after botched abortions. Speaking virtually to the “great, great people” at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, the president reaffirmed his commitment to protecting “born and unborn children.”
“Today I am announcing that I will be signing the Born Alive Executive Order to ensure that all precious babies born alive, no matter their circumstances, receive the medical care that they deserve,” President Trump said. “This is our sacrosanct moral duty. We are also increasing federal funding for the neonatal research to ensure that every child has the very best chance to thrive and grow.”
At the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, President @realDonaldTrump announced he will sign the Born-Alive Executive Order! pic.twitter.com/Y2bu1wmRwV
— Team Trump (Text VOTE to 88022) (@TeamTrump) September 23, 2020
The ‘Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act’ was originally introduced in the upper chamber by Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) but gained minimal momentum. The legislation would mandate that care be given to a baby born of a failed abortion and institute penalties for deliberately killing a newborn. It was introduced after Virginia Governor Ralph Northam (D) endorsed infanticide in 2019, when a state legislator introduced a bill loosening restrictions on late-term and post-birth abortions.
"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 of post-birth abortion at the time. "And then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother."
The president said that the executive order will mandate that newborns surviving abortion receive adequate care, and gives increased grant money to neonatal research.