Cotton, Ernst Introduce Legislation to Hold States Accountable for Botched Abortions

Statement

Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) last week introduced legislation that would require states to report information about abortion to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including cases where infants are born alive during abortions. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), Mike Braun (R-Indiana), Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota), Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), James Lankford (R-Oklahoma), Ben Sasse (R-Nebraska), and Tim Scott (R-South Carolina) are co-sponsors of the legislation. Congressmen Ralph Norman (R-South Carolina) and Gary Palmer (R-Alabama) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

"The American people deserve to know how many babies are born alive during abortion attempts in our country. This is life or death information, yet most states don't collect it. Our bill would require states to report accurate and complete data about abortion, including instances where babies are born alive during abortions," said Cotton.

"America's main source of abortion data comes from a biased think tank that only collects information on a voluntary basis. That's unacceptable. Why wouldn't we want the most reliable and complete data possible surrounding such an important issue?" said Ernst. "Requiring comprehensive reporting from every state will finally give Americans-regardless of your stance on the issue-an accurate look at abortion trends in our country."

"The truth is we have no idea how many children are born alive each year following an abortion procedure. In fact, we don't even have reliable information on the number of abortions performed because states are not compelled to provide those numbers. This bill would rectify that. Congress needs this information in order to make sound policy decisions. Equally as important, the American people deserve to know," said Norman.

"Accurate and transparent reporting on abortion and children who survive abortion attempts is essential to public health research and to determining sound policy," said Palmer. "Reporting abortion data has been voluntary for too long, and this has led to states withholding many data points routinely requested by the CDC. We must standardize and enforce reporting processes in this area and ensure that states have necessary assistance in collecting the required abortion data. States should not be allowed to distort or provide faulty data in an effort to cover up the true numbers of innocent lives lost by abortion."