Ahead of Friday’s March for Life, Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a mother and member of the Senate Pro-Life Caucus, reintroduced her effort that requires states to report accurate and complete data about abortion—including cases where babies are born alive during abortions.
“Every single life is precious. Yet right now, only a handful of states record abortion data in a comprehensive and verifiably accurate way, including tragic cases where babies are born alive during abortions. This straightforward effort will require states to report abortion data accurately and completely, ensuring that no life is ever ignored, hidden, or forgotten,” said Senator Ernst.
“The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has long acknowledged that national statistics on abortion are lacking. Abortion data reporting is completely optional on the part of states, resulting in a patchwork of incomplete, outdated, and sometimes entirely missing information. Senator Ernst’s Ensuring Accurate & Complete Abortion Data Reporting Act of 2022 creates a new funding incentive for states to participate and requires states to report babies born alive. Americans across the ideological spectrum agree that researchers, policymakers, and taxpayers deserve better data on this important topic. We thank Senator Ernst for her powerful pro-life leadership and hope to see this bill pass with bipartisan support,” said SBA List VP of Government Affairs, Hon. Marilyn Musgrave.
“Abortion reporting data is woefully inadequate because states like California refuse to collect any data, let alone share it with the public. This bill will help lawmakers enact good policy and ensure that women are empowered to understand the realities of abortion, including that later in pregnancy, babies can be born-alive. Women deserve this critical information as a matter of justice and certainly in order to give informed consent,” said Catherine Glenn Foster, President & CEO, Americans United for Life.
Currently, states submit abortion data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on a voluntary basis. The Ensuring Accurate and Complete Abortion Reporting Data Act put forward by Ernst requires states to report accurate and complete data about abortion as a condition for receiving certain Medicaid family-planning funds. It also requires states to report cases where babies are born alive during abortions. At present, only a handful of states record these cases.
