39 Members of Congress send letterSmith leads letter strongly supporting implementation of Pres. Trump’s EO on Protecting Vulnerable Newborn and Infant Children

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, today led 38 Members of Congress in sending a letter to U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr., fully supporting and urging the implementation of President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) on Protecting Vulnerable Newborn and Infant Children —issued during his first term—to protect premature infants from discrimination. “All infants—especially those with disabilities or conditions requiring life-sustaining care after birth—deserve love, compassion, and equal protection under the law,” said Smith. “I am grateful for Sec. Kennedy and President Trump’s ongoing work to help those in need—and through the full implementation of the Protecting Vulnerable Newborn and Infant Children EO, we can continue to protect and defend the most vulnerable among us.” In the bicameral letter, first reported by the Washington Examiner , the Republican lawmakers cite the heartbreaking case of McKenna West —a surrogate pressured to abort the baby she was carrying after a 20-week ultrasound diagnosed a serious, but treatable, heart condition—as evidence of “the need for quick federal action on this matter.” Although Ms. West says that she faced pressure to abort from the baby’s biological parents, she refused and offered to raise the baby herself or find him a loving home. She relocated to Texas to be near a hospital equipped to provide the baby with lifesaving care after he was born. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton intervened in McKenna’s case, and a Texas judge issued an order directing that the baby receive life-sustaining care after birth and preventing his removal from the state of Texas. “We are grateful that Texas law recognized and protected the rights and personhood of Ms. West’s surrogate baby and acted to save his life. Sadly, this protection is not uniform in all the states across our nation,” the Members of Congress write. “Leadership from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is needed to ensure that all vulnerable infants receive equal protection under the law, instead of being at the mercy of health care systems that may unjustly declare them unworthy of life.” The lawmakers then urge Secretary Kennedy to elevate the directives embedded within President Trump’s EO on Protecting Vulnerable Newborn and Infant Children —issued on September 25, 2020, and never formally rescinded by the Biden Administration—which clarifies that all individuals, including vulnerable infants, are protected under federal law, such as the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) (42 U.S.C. 1395dd), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794), and The Born-Alive Infants Protection Act (1 U.S.C. 8). The co-signatories note that the directives for the HHS Secretary in the EO “offer important opportunities to ensure vulnerable newborns, including newborns with diagnosed disabilities, are receiving the care they deserve, no matter where in the United States they are born.” They also urge Secretary Kennedy to consider reissuing a rule highlighting federal law protecting premature infants and adults with disabilities from discrimination. In January 2021, during President Trump’s first Administration, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) had issued a proposed rule, entitled “Special Responsibilities of Medicare Hospitals in Emergency Cases and Discrimination on the Basis of Disability in Critical Health and Human Service Programs or Activities.” House Cosigners (30): Reps. Smith (R-NJ), Cammack (R-FL), Wagner (R-MO), Aderholt (R-AL), Barr (R-KY), Biggs (R-AZ), Biggs (R-SC), Bost (R-IL), Brecheen (R-OK), Cline (R-VA), Cloud (R-TX), Clyde (R-GA), Estes (R-KS), Fulcher (R-ID), Grothman (R-WI), Harris (R-MD), Higgins (R-LA), Johnson (R-SD), Joyce (R-PA), Latta (R-OH), Mann (R-KS), McDowell (R-NC), McGuire (R-VA), Miller (R-IL), Moore (R-UT), Norman (R-SC), Onder (R-MO), Palmer (R-AL), Rose (R-TN), Thompson (R-PA) Senate Cosigners (9): Sens. Lankford (R-OK), Hyde-Smith (R-MS), D. Graham (R-SC), Blackburn (R-TN), Lummis (R-WY), Justice (R-WV), Daines (R-MT), Banks (R-IN), Ricketts (R-NE) ###