Texas Governor Signs Bill to Protect Babies Born Alive During Abortions
On Friday, Texas became the latest state to provide protections to infants who survive abortions, the Texas Tribune reports.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law House Bill 16, which requires abortion practitioners to provide basic medical care to infants who survive abortions. Individuals who violate the law face third-degree felony charges and a fine up to $100,000. The bill also mandates any individual who has knowledge of a failure to comply with the law to report it to the attorney general.
“The physician must exercise the same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and health of the child as a reasonably diligent and conscientious physician would render to any other child born alive at the same gestational age,” the bill reads. “'Professional skill, care, and diligence’ includes a requirement that the physician who performed or attempted the abortion...