Vice presidential nominee JD Vance slammed his opponent Tim Walz on Tuesday night over Minnesota laws that no longer protects babies who survive abortions.
Vance pointed out that Walz, as governor of Minnesota, repealed a bipartisan measure that formerly required doctors to report whether abortions resulted in the live birth of a baby, what actions were taken to preserve the life of that baby, and whether the baby survived.
Walz’s action also stripped the state’s requirement that measures be taken to preserve the baby’s “life and health,” replacing it merely with a requirement for “care.”
“That is fundamentally barbaric,” Vance told Walz.
Walz denied the allegation.
Vance accurately points out that Tim Walz repealed Minnesota’s requirement that measures be taken to preserve the “life and health” of a baby who survives an abortion, replacing it with a nebulous requirement for “care.”
Vance: “That is fundamentally barbaric.” pic.twitter.com/KukWZS2lRL
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) October 2, 2024
Under the state’s former abortion reporting requirements, state health department data shows that physicians performed five abortions that resulted in a baby’s live birth between Jan. 1, 2021, and Dec. 31, 2021. The data shows that the first baby had “fetal anomalies” and no steps were taken to help that baby, resulting in “death shortly after delivery.”
“Comfort care measures” were provided to two of the other babies as they died, and no measures were taken to “preserve life” of the last two, reportedly “previable,” babies.
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Only eight states publicly report or respond to requests for statistics on babies who were born alive during abortion procedures, according to the Charlotte Lozier Institute: Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Texas.
The Daily Wire previously reported that most of these states are not transparent with their reporting on whether the babies were given care after they were born alive through botched abortions. Minnesota appears to be the only state that was legitimately providing reasons — until Walz did away with the state’s reporting requirement in May 2023.
Walz also signed a broad abortion law in January 2023 that does not include any limitations on how late during her pregnancy a mother may end the life of her unborn baby.