A proposed California law would allow for infanticide, pro-life advocates say, accomplishing this deadly end through vagueness and semantics.
Assembly Bill 2223 passed the state Assembly Health Committee Apr. 19 in a vote of 11-3, Live Action reports, moving now to a third house committee.
It had been amended to add ‘perinatal death due to pregnancy related cause,’ but does not define ‘perinatal death’ or ‘pregnancy-related cause.’
Legal experts say this means that abortion survivors, preterm babies, or babies with health complications may be left to die, the report said. Further, the perinatal period is defined differently by varying medical groups, and while it is widely understood as lasting at least 28 days following a child’s birth, it has been interpreted to be as 24 months after birth.
The bill’s supporters say it will shield parents from prosecution if their child is stillborn resulting from drug use or a pregnancy-related complication. But the state’s abortion-friendly climate has pro-life advocates concerned over the specter of legalized infanticide.
“The amendments do not address the fact that the bill would continue to chill reporting and investigations of ANY perinatal death because, whether that death was ‘pregnancy related’ or not could only be determined after investigation," said Theresa Brennan, an attorney and president of Right to Life League. "If it turned out the infant’s death was ‘pregnancy related,’ a term which is undefined, overbroad, and meaningless since even birth is pregnancy related, an immediate private cause of action (with damages starting at $25,000 and attorney’s fees) could be taken against the person who did the investigation. The real aim of this bill is to cover up and block any investigation into late term chemical abortions which studies have proven will result in live births.”
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One of the first states to legalize abortion, even prior to the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, California has revealed plans to be an abortion ‘sanctuary’ state should Roe v. Wade be upended.
AB 2223 is one of eight new laws proposed in California that would bolster abortion proposed in California in response to the possibility that the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn Roe v. Wade with the forthcoming Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health decision, said Josh McClure.
McClure is the executive director of Pregnancy Care Clinic in El Cajon, Calif., and president emeritus of the California Alliance of Pregnancy Care (CAPC)
He reached out to fellow life advocates recently about the disturbing proposed laws, convinced that divine intervention is in necessary to stop these impending abortion-affirming measures.
“There is really nothing that will stand in the way of these becoming law short of God’s miraculous intervention,” he said. “All I can say about that is our mission field is enormous in California.”
He noted AB 2223 in particular.
“There is a troubling bill that would expand abortion legalities in this state to include infanticide,” McClure said.
AB 2223 was introduced to the California legislature by Assembly Members Buffy Wicks and Kevin Mullin, passed through the Judiciary committee, before then being reviewed by the state assembly’s Committee on Health.
Opponents of the law call it the “infanticide bill” because of the hidden term “perinatal” in the text.
The bill text states in part: “Notwithstanding any other law, a person shall not be subject to civil or criminal liability or penalty, or otherwise deprived of their rights, rights under this article, based on their actions or omissions with respect to their pregnancy or actual, potential, or alleged pregnancy outcome, including miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion, or perinatal death. death due to a pregnancy-related cause.”
“When I first learned about this, I thought it was just a typo (perinatal vs. prenatal),” McClure said on Apr. 7.
“Watchdog groups began sounding the alarm a couple weeks ago,” he said. “They claimed Sacramento wanted to make infanticide legal in California.”
McClure said he takes great care regarding political advocacy and avoids hyperbolic rhetoric. He’d held out getting involved with AB 2223 because he had hoped it would get fixed after his Pregnancy Center Advocacy group raised the issue, he said. But after checking on the bill the day prior, it had been amended and the word "perinatology" remains.
“Now that it remains after the amendment, I would say it seems purposeful,” McClure said. “And the criticism that it will allow infanticide is not hyperbolic.”
“Postpartum” as defined by Merriam Webster is “occurring in or being the period following childbirth.” “Perinatal” is “occurring in, concerned with, or being in the period around the time of birth.”
McClure noted that women can get perinatal care up to about a month after birth if it is needed, and thus leaving this word in the law will have the effect of legalizing infanticide for as long as perinatal care continues.
Similarly, abortion was legalized throughout pregnancy in Roe up to birth through exploitation of the vague concept of “the health of the mother.”
This raises the question as to whether such things as postpartum depression could be leveraged as cause for killing the baby in the perinatal window with AB 2223.
Citing the effect of vague language in regard to making all abortions at any stage of pregnancy legal, McClure added, “After all, every reason a woman might be motivated to choose abortion today has an impact on her health.”
“This word ‘perinatal’ needs to change, or else we will have legal infanticide up to about one month after birth in California,” he said.
McClure said the if the bill passes in the state assembly it will then go to the state senate and go through its committee process.
He is calling for pro-life advocates to raise awareness, oppose the bill, and to pray.
“Pray that God will move to protect the unborn and newly born,” McClure said.
