“The baby survived by the grace of God,” said bill author Rep. Krista Knudsen. “And now we’re asking to protect that baby. That’s it.”
One of the longest-tenured Democrats in the Minnesota House was one of the only members of her caucus to speak on the chamber floor Thursday in opposition to a bill that would restore protections for infants who survive botched abortions.
Rep. Tina Liebling, DFL-Rochester, carried a bill in 2023 that the DFL trifecta passed, which effectively repealed the longstanding “Born Alive Infants Protection Act.” The 2023 legislation modified language in state statute that had required medical providers to “preserve the life” of an infant born alive after an abortion procedure to instead require they provide “care” for the infant.
The 1976 and 2015 versions of the “Born Alive” statute were passed with Democrat support.
On Thursday, HF24, the bill attempting to restore the “Born Alive Act” language to state statute, failed to pass by one vote, as 67 Republicans voted for the proposal and 66 Democrats voted against it. Bills need 68 votes to pass.
“The more I thought about this law, which we repealed two years ago, which this bill is an attempt to reinstate, the more I realized what a fraud this law really is,” said Liebling during remarks she gave in opposition to the legislation.
The 11-term DFLer tried to convince her colleagues that the language of the bill would have the opposite effect of its intent.
“There is nothing in current law that would allow an infant, however born, to be left on any tables and abandoned,” she argued. “All of the gnashing of teeth about how we’re leaving infants to die is fraudulent.”
Liebling also contended that “not one single infant [was] reported to be saved” under the “Born Alive” statute before it was repealed in 2023.
“I know somebody’s going to get up and say, ‘Oh, look at these reports. It says there were infants born alive after abortions.’ That’s not what the reports mean and that’s part of the problem. Under the old law, nobody knew what it meant, so if a doctor decided to report, it was pretty much guesswork,” she claimed, referring to annual Minnesota Department of Health reports that used to require abortion providers to report cases of born-alive infants.
Republicans on the floor disputed her claims.
“This bill is specifically addressing cases where the infant is born alive as the result of an abortion, and we fully recognize this child as a human person and provide care to preserve the life,” said Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove. “‘Comfort care’ is not preserving the life. And it’s incumbent on us that if a baby is born alive, to try to save their life.”
