Montana voters to decide on 'born alive' abortion bill

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A referendum on the Montana ballot in November raises the prospect of criminal charges for health care providers unless they take “all medically appropriate and reasonable actions to preserve the life” of an infant born alive, including after an attempted abortion.

Supporters of the referendum say the proposed Born-Alive Infant Protection Act is meant to prevent the killing of infants outside the womb after failed abortions. That is already illegal.

Opponents argue the act could rob them of precious time with infants that are born with incurable medical issues if doctors are forced to try and treat them.

Americans United for Life, which has offered model legislation for state “born alive” laws, argues the federal Born Alive Infant Protection Act of 2002 only applies at federal facilities and those that receive federal funding, and not at private clinics.

At least half of U.S. states have similar post-abortion born-alive laws in place, according to Americans United for Life, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that opposes abortion, aid in dying and infant stem cell research.

Montana law allows for homicide charges if a person purposely, knowingly or negligently causes the death of a premature infant born alive, if the infant is viable.

When presenting the bill in the Montana Senate last year, Sen. Tom McGillvray said the current state law "basically says ‘don’t kill it.' This bill says ‘save it.' That's the difference.”

The legislation says its purpose is to protect the life of any infant born alive following an abortion. However the text says: “A born-alive infant, including an infant born in the course of an abortion, must be treated as a legal person under the laws of the state, with the same rights to medically appropriate and reasonable...