Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe signs Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act into law
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe signed Senate Bill 999 into law Monday, enacting the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act to guarantee that any baby born alive after an attempted abortion receives immediate medical care and the full legal rights of any other person.
The new law declares that an infant born alive following an abortion or attempted abortion shall have the same rights, privileges and immunities as any other citizen and resident of Missouri, and it requires medical professionals to provide immediate, professional care to preserve the child's life, health and comfort. Anyone who knowingly performs an act to kill such a child now faces first-degree murder charges.
Missouri Right to Life praised the governor and the lawmakers who carried the bill, including Sen. Brad Hudson and Reps. Brian Seitz and Holly Jones. House sponsor Seitz put the reasoning simply.
"They're deserving of health care. It's just common sense."
Susan Klein, executive director of Missouri Right to Life, said the protection fills a real gap in state law. She noted that a baby born alive after an attempted abortion is legally different from a baby born in a normal delivery, since the abortionist set out to end the child's life and the mother's consent form never anticipated a live birth. Missouri, she said, had no explicit statute protecting these children until now.
The bill passed the Senate and then the House on May 13 before heading to the governor's desk. Missouri Right to Life called the new law essential to protecting some of the most vulnerable children in the state.
"The most vulnerable among us deserve every opportunity to thrive," Missouri Right to Life added.
Final Thoughts
Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, has long insisted that a child who survives an abortion is no less deserving of protection than any other newborn in America. Missouri's new law puts that conviction into force, and it stands as a model for every state still weighing how to protect the tiniest survivors of the abortion industry.
Related resources: Legislative action for the unborn at PriestsForLife.org
