Born-Alive Infants Protection Act

The Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 2002 ("BAIPA" Pub.L. 107-207, 116 Stat. 926, enacted August 5, 2002, 1 U.S.C. § 8) is an Act of Congress. It extends legal protection to an infant born alive after a failed attempt at induced abortion. It was signed by President George W. Bush, a Republican.

Legislative history

• Based on H.R. 2175 - passed March 12, 2002
• Introduced on June 14, 2001^[1]
• Reported by Committee on August 2, 2001^[1]
• Passed House on March 12, 2002^[1]
• Passed Senate by unanimous consent July 18, 2002.^[2]
• Signed into law by President Bush in Pittsburgh at the Pittsburgh Hilton.^[3] on August 5, 2002^[1]
• The original author of the bill was Congressman Charles T. Canady of Florida who had by then retired from Congress.

Committee of the House

The bill was approved by the committee on July 12, 2001. The committee consisted of 32 representatives, 25 of which voted for the bill, 2 against and 10 were not present during the vote. This vote allowed the bill to be passed onto the entire house of representatives.^[4]

Interpretation of the Bill

• Defines a "Born alive infant" as "Person, human being, Child, Individual"
• Gives rights as a human to any child born with in the United States. ^[5]
• "Born Alive" is defined as the complete expulsion of an infant at any stage of development that has a heartbeat, pulsation of the umbilical cord, breath, or voluntary muscle movement, no matter if the umbilical cord has been cut or if the expulsion of the infant was natural, induced labor, cesarean section, or induced abortion.^[4]

See also

• Born-alive rule
• Baby Doe Law
• Jill Stanek

References