Is the Born Alive Infant Protection Act justified? One of the most controversial medical issues is the resuscitation of newborns who do not have a high probability of survival. The United States fully adopted the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act (BAIPA) in 2002. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services subsequently issued guidelines for implementing the law (Conway, 2009). The department outlined the clinical procedures that health workers were required to follow in the resuscitation and care of babies born between twenty and twenty-four weeks of gestation. However, since it went into effect, the law has received minimal attention, and many neonatologists are unfamiliar with the law. Furthermore, a survey of neonatologists indicated that the majority of them did not support the legislation because, if implemented, it would change medical practice (Arkes, 2013). Additionally, the law expands the definition of person to include the provision that a fetus expelled from the womb constitutes a person. In this case, the law holds that as long as the fetus shows signs of life that include breathing, pulsation of the umbilical cord, and voluntary or involuntary muscle movement, the baby is considered alive. The article explores the issues surrounding the law and provides an analysis of the best course of action in this regard. Initially, many people interpreted the act as anti-abortion legislation that grants legal status to children born alive in the United States, regardless of the mode of birth; essentially, it changed the meaning of being born alive. The initial controversy arose when the Neonatal Resuscitation Program issued an opinion stating that the law should not change... half of the document... University of Houston Law Center. Gibson, J. (2009, June 6). Who should decide the survival of newborns? Retrieved from Brain Blogger: http://brainblogger.com/2009/06/06/who-should-decide-the-survivability-of-newborns/Parker, S. (2014, March 17). Strengthen the law on the protection of live-born newborns. Retrieved May 3, 2014, from The Patriot Post: https://patriotpost.us/opinion/24065Partridge, J.C., Sendowski, M.D., Drey, E.A., & Martinez, A.M. (2009). Resuscitation of Probably Unviable Newborns: Would Neonatology Practices in California Change If the Born-Alive Protection Act Were Enforced? Pediatrics, 1088-1094. Stanek, J. (2008, January 10). Top 10 Reasons Obama Voted Against the Illinois Born Alive Infant Protection Act. Retrieved May 3, 2014, from Illinois Review: http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2008/01/top-10-reasons. html