AUL Action President and CEO to testify in favor of HB 1112, the “Born Alive Infant Protection Act,” before the Colorado House Public Health Care & Human Services Committee
WASHINGTON, D.C./DENVER, CO (03-03-15) – “Babies born under difficult and even dangerous circumstances deserve the respect and care due all people. That’s why Americans United for Life Action calls on Colorado legislators to support humane treatment of newly born infants who do not deserve abandonment and death,” according to Americans United for Life Action President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest, who will testify Tuesday afternoon in favor of HB 1112, the “Born Alive Infant Protection Act.”
The bill requires medical professionals to provide nourishment and “medically appropriate and reasonable medical care and treatment or surgical care” to every infant born alive in the state of Colorado regardless of his or her stage of gestational development. The bill also criminalizes “infanticide”: any act or failure to act with the intent to kill an infant. The bill’s requirements apply regardless of the circumstances under which an infant is born, and the act explicitly provides that these protections extend to children born alive during abortions.
MEDIA ADVISORY:
Dr. Yoest to testify Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. in room 107 on HB 1112,
The “Born Alive Infant Protection Act,”
Before the Colorado House Public Health Care & Human Services Committee.
In 2002, the federal Born-Alive Infant Protection Act became law, clarifying that infants born alive at any stage of development are protected under federal law. Further, 26 states have laws similar to HB 1112, establishing a specific affirmative duty for physicians to provide medical care and treatment to born-alive infants at any stage of development. (Alabama, Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin.) Four additional states have more limited protections. (Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Virginia.)
Dr. Yoest is available in Denver for interviews on Tuesday. Contact media@aul.org to request.
To read Dr. Yoest’s entire testimony, click here.
To listen to a live-stream of Dr. Yoest’s testimony, click here.
