AHM Statement on the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Act Discharge Petition

The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine

Upholding and Promoting the Fundamental Principles of Hippocratic Medicine

15 April 2021

Media Contact: 

Quentin Van Meter, MD, FCP, President

admin@acpeds.org 

(352) 376-1877

As medical organizations that represent approximately 30,000 members, we are deeply concerned about inequities in care for our most vulnerable patients, especially children born at the cusp of viability or with disabilities. Life-limiting or life-threatening diagnoses are not life-negating.

All our patients are human beings with value and worth. If born alive, regardless of the place or circumstances of their birth, all babies must be assessed and receive the appropriate degree of intervention as outlined by the Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP). The Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act helps ensure consistent care and avoid inequities, particularly protecting against inequities related to race and demographic factors.

The BAASPA ensures that all physicians adhere to our Hippocratic duty to protect our patients and do no harm – regardless of the setting in which they work. The presence of the live newborn makes obvious the obligations of the physician-patient relationship. We support this Act on behalf of our youngest and most at-risk patients.