South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem Signs Born-Alive Bill to Stop Infanticide

Republican South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem signed a bill into law on Wednesday that provides protections for babies born alive after a failed abortion.

House Bill 1051, titled, “An Act to maintain the life of any child born alive,” stipulates that doctors, including abortionists, must use the same medical skills and treatments for a child who survives a failed abortion as would be used for any other child born at the same stage of gestation.

The obligation is binding on every physician who attempts to perform an abortion and makes clear that if a child is born alive following a failed abortion, the physician has “the duty to ensure that the child is immediately admitted to a hospital, consistent with accepted standards of medical practice.”

The legislation states that an infant is deemed “born alive” if it is completely extracted from its mother, and if the child:

1. Breathes;
2. Has a beating heart;
3. Has pulsation of the umbilical cord; or
4. Has definite movement of voluntary muscles.

The bill notes that a mother can receive monetary damages from a physician “where the physician’s negligence in caring for the child following birth was a significant contributing factor in causing her psychological injury.”

It also states that any physician that fails to properly care for a child following a failed abortion “is liable to the state for a civil penalty of ten thousand dollars for each offense,” and that the “physician, licensed agent, and licensed abortion facility… must be reported to the South Dakota Board of Medical and Osteopathic Examiners and that may form the grounds for sanctions, including suspension of the physician’s license and, where appropriate, revocation of such license.”

Governor Kristi Noem released the following statement after signing the bill into law:

“The pro-life cause continues even after a child is born, and this bill will guarantee the right to life for every baby that is born alive. We expect doctors to treat all children equally, even those born in horrific circumstances. That’s basic human decency.”

As previously reported by The Daily Citizen, many times if an abortion fails, the abortionist only provides the infant struggling for life with “‘comfort care’ where the doctor essentially keeps the baby ‘comfortable’ until she or he dies.”

Thankfully, this practice is now illegal in The Mount Rushmore State.

You can follow this author on Parler @ZacharyMettler

Photo from Sipa USA/REUTERS