Relates to establishing the born alive abortion survivors' protection act that places requirements on health care practitioners present at the time a child is born alive during an abortion.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2195
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 15, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. MANKTELOW, BLANKENBUSH, BRABENEC, DeSTEFANO,
DiPIETRO, FITZPATRICK, HAWLEY, McDONOUGH, MILLER, MORINELLO, MIKULIN,
SMULLEN, SMITH, REILLY -- read once and referred to the Committee on
Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to establishing the
born alive abortion survivors' protection act
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding a new section
2 2599-bb-2 to read as follows:
3 § 2599-bb-2. The born alive abortion survivors' protection act. 1.
4 Any health care practitioner present at the time the child is born alive
5 during an abortion or attempted abortion procedure shall:
6 (a) exercise the same degree of professional skill, care, and dili-
7 gence to preserve the life and health of the child as a reasonably dili-
8 gent and conscientious health care practitioner would render to any
9 other child born alive at the same gestational age; and
10 (b) following the exercise of skill, care, and diligence required
11 under paragraph (a) of this subdivision, ensure that the child born
12 alive is immediately transported and admitted to a hospital.
13 2. A health care practitioner licensed, certified, or authorized under
14 title eight of the education law, acting within such health care practi-
15 tioner's lawful scope of practice, who has knowledge of a failure to
16 comply with the requirements of subdivision one of this section shall
17 immediately report the failure to an appropriate state or federal law
18 enforcement agency, or to both.
19 A violation of this subdivision is a class A misdemeanor.
20 3. An individual that intentionally performs or attempts to perform an
21 overt act that kills a child born alive described under paragraph (a) of
22 subdivision one of this section, shall be guilty under section 125.25 or
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01098-02-5
A. 2195 2
1 110.05 of the penal law for intentionally killing or attempting to kill
2 a human being.
3 4. The mother of a child born alive described under subdivision one of
4 this section may not be prosecuted for a violation of this section, an
5 attempt to violate this section, a conspiracy to violate this section,
6 or an offense under subdivision two or three of this section based on
7 such a violation.
8 5. If a child is born alive and there is a violation of subdivision
9 one of this section, the mother of the child born alive upon whom the
10 abortion was performed or attempted may, in a civil action against any
11 person who committed the violation, obtain appropriate relief, which
12 shall include:
13 (a) actual money damage for all injuries, psychological and physical,
14 caused by the violation of subdivision one of this section;
15 (b) statutory damages equal to three times the cost of the abortion or
16 attempted abortion; and
17 (c) punitive damages.
18 6. If judgment is rendered in favor of the plaintiff in any action
19 authorized under this section, the court shall also award, as part of
20 the costs, reasonable attorneys' fees in favor of the plaintiff against
21 the defendant. If judgment is rendered in favor of the defendant and the
22 court finds that the plaintiff's suit was frivolous or brought in bad
23 faith, then the court shall award, as part of the costs, reasonable
24 attorneys' fees in favor of the defendant against the plaintiff.
25 7. As used in this section:
26 (a) "attempt" means with respect to an abortion, conduct that, under
27 the circumstances as the actor believes them to be, constitutes a
28 substantial step in a course of conduct planned to culminate in perform-
29 ing an abortion.
30 (b) "born alive" has the same meaning as defined in section eight of
31 title one of the United States Code.
32 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
