Illinois House Committee Approves Bill Requiring Medical Care for Fetuses 'Born Alive' Under Any Circumstances

Main Category: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 13 Mar 2005 - 13:00 PDT


The Illinois House Judiciary Committee on Civil Law on Wednesday unanimously approved a bill... (HB 984) that would require doctors to provide medical care for any infant "born alive" at any stage of pregnancy under any circumstances, including during abortion procedures, the Chicago Tribune reports (Slife, Chicago Tribune, 3/10). The measure would define a "person" as "every infant member of the species Homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development," according to the Springfield State Journal-Register. The bill describes "born alive" as "any human who has been completely expelled or extracted from the mother and who has a heartbeat or muscle movement, whether or not the umbilical cord is still connected and regardless of whether the expulsion was a result of natural birth, caesarean section or abortion," according to the State Journal-Register. The measure would require that all state laws applying to "people," including murder laws, also would apply to all infants born alive, as defined in the measure, according to the State Journal-Register (Mackey, Springfield State Journal-Register, 3/10). However, the bill includes language specifically stating that nothing in the measure would affect the state's abortion laws, according to the AP/WQAD.com (AP/WQAD.com, 3/9). Committee Chair Rep. John Fritchey (D), who helped to add the language ensuring that the bill would not affect abortion rights in the state, said that, although the bill has a "laudable purpose," he is worried about the "subtext of the bill, which is threatening to a woman's right to choose," according to the State Journal-Register (Springfield State Journal-Register, 3/10). The measure now goes to the full state House (Chicago Tribune, 3/10).

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