S. 6 · Where this bill is now
In committee
Introduced in the Senate, Jan 15, 2025
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryRequires care for children born alive after abortion
This bill sets requirements for how doctors and other health care workers must treat a child who is born alive during or after an abortion procedure. Healthcare workers present must provide the same level of care they would give any other newborn at that stage of development and must ensure the child is admitted to a hospital. If a healthcare worker knows that someone else failed to provide this care, they must report it to law enforcement right away. The bill also makes it a criminal offense, including murder charges, if someone intentionally harms or kills a child born in this situation.
How it affects you
This bill most directly affects healthcare workers and hospitals that provide abortion services, since it creates new legal duties and penalties for them. Mothers are protected from prosecution under the bill but can sue healthcare providers or workers for violations. For the general public, this bill establishes a legal framework around a rare medical situation, though the specifics of how it would apply in practice are not detailed in the summary.
Read the official summary (Introduced in Senate, Jan 15, 2025)
Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act
This bill establishes requirements for the degree of care a health care practitioner must provide in the case of a child born alive following an abortion or attempted abortion.
Specifically, a health care practitioner who is present must (1) exercise the same degree of care as would reasonably be provided to any other child born alive at the same gestational age, and (2) ensure the child is immediately admitted to a hospital. Additionally, a health care practitioner or other employee who has knowledge of a failure to comply with the degree-of-care requirements must immediately report such failure to law enforcement.
A health care practitioner who fails to provide the required degree of care, or a health care practitioner or other employee who fails to report such failure, is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, up to five years in prison, or both.
An individual who intentionally kills or attempts to kill a child born alive is subject to prosecution for murder.
The bill bars the criminal prosecution of a mother of a child born alive under this bill and allows her to bring a civil action against a health care practitioner or other employee for violations.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionS. 6
A BILL
Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act
Sponsor: Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) · Introduced Jan 15, 2025 · Crime and Law Enforcement · 1 version of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Jan 22, 2025: “Cloture on the motion to proceed to the measure not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 52 - 47. Record Vote Number: 11. (CR S294-295)”
How Congress voted
Official roll callsSenate · On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed · Jan 22, 2025
Cloture on the Motion to Proceed Rejected 52–47
| Party | Yes | No | Didn’t vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 0 | 45 | 0 |
| Independents | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Republicans | 52 | 0 | 1 |
Source: senate.gov · roll call 11
Congress votes on whole bills and amendments, not on single sections.