Protect Abortion Survivors

Amy Miles and Michelle Lyman share their stories of surviving after attempted abortions. They are accompanied by ORTL executive director, Lois Anderson, Senator Kim Thatcher (R–Keizer) and Representative Anna Scharf (R–Amity) who explain how current law in Oregon fails to protect infants born alive during attempted abortions.

Babies ARE born alive during attempted abortions

According to the Charlotte Lozier Institute, attempted late-term abortions do sometimes result in live births. Citing a 1981 article, they state that this result was known as the “dreaded complication.”

The CDC estimated that 143 infants died after being born alive during abortions between the years of 2003 and 2014. However, health data from Canada indicates that 766 infants were born alive during abortions between 2013 and 2018.

This suggests that the rate at which this occurs may be significantly higher than the CDC estimates.

Oregon has NO protections for born-alive babies

In Oregon, infants who are born alive after an attempted abortion are not guaranteed life-saving medical care. If they had been born in a hospital, doctors would do what they could to save their lives, but they may be left to die because they were born during an abortion.

Protections for infants who are born alive after an attempted abortion have broad public appeal. A 2020 poll conducted by Ragnar Research Partners found that 78% of likely voters in Oregon support these measures. This finding was reinforced by a 2021 statistical model that found 72.2% of Oregonians likely support requiring medical care for infants who are born alive after an attempted abortion. Pro-life legislators have presented every year for the past four years (HB 3423, 2019; SB 1042, 2019; SB 1523, 2020; HB 2699, 2021; SB 586, 2021; SB 1553, 2022). However, pro-abortion politicians have voted against these protections every time they’ve had the chance.