Pro-life group warns babies are still left to die after failed abortions in Alberta

(LifeSiteNews) — A Canadian provincial pro-life group is warning that babies continue being left to die after late-term abortions in the province of Alberta and has urged people to demand that politicians and health officials end the practice. 

The group Prolife Alberta, in a message sent to LifeSiteNews, brought to attention the fact that data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) indeed “confirms that in Alberta, infants are still being born alive following labour-induced late-term abortions and left to die.”

“Last year it was 17, Seventeen babies. Seventeen times. Seventeen moments where the line between born and unborn was crossed, but care did not follow,” said Prolife Alberta.

“A child can be born alive in Alberta and the system can decide, even in advance, that no care will be given! If even being born alive does not guarantee care – what, exactly, does?”

Canada-wide, the CIHI data from 2024–25 shows that late-term, “stillbirth” abortions are up to 1,219. In 2024, there were 1,192.

When it comes to late-term, born-alive abortions, they are down to 129. The year before, there were 150.

Prolife Alberta said that the reality in Alberta is that the “line between born and unborn means anything, it must mean something here.”

“Right now, that line is blurred. We intend to make it unmistakably clear,” said the group.

As it stands now, Canada’s Criminal Code, in Section 223, states, as noted by Prolife Alberta, a “child born alive – under any circumstance – is a legal person.”

“At that moment everything changes. The child born alive must be treated as a patient in their own right – with care determined by their condition, not the circumstances of their birth,” said the group.

Despite this, Prolife Alberta says that Alberta Health Services (AHS) policies still allow babies born alive after botched or late-term abortions to die.

In place is still a do-not-resuscitate order, which Prolife Alberta says is “written before a child is even born.”

“An increasingly arbitrary ‘non-interventional approach’ applied broadly-even when a child shows signs of life,” says the group.

Despite this policy, Prolife Alberta says that the problem can be “fixed quickly,” as no new legislation is needed nor is any “drawn-out public policy battle.”

“No political theatre. Just an administrative update to existing AHS policies,” says the group.

Prolife Alberta has in the past called to attention the fact that babies are being left to die in Alberta. 

The governing United Conservative Party (UCP) under Premier Danielle Smith, while far from being pro-abortion, has still not actively made good on a promise to rally to bring forth a referendum for a vote to ban late-term abortions.

As reported by LifeSiteNews, last year, UCP MLA Jason Stephan spoke in the Alberta legislature on November 19 about late-term abortions, calling for a citizen-led referendum to ban the practice.

Late-term abortions often result in live births, as the baby is not completely killed during the abortion procedure. As reported by LifeSiteNews recently, 150 babies were born after botched abortions in 2023–2024 in Canada, but it’s not known how many survived.

Similarly, reports from 2018 indicated that 766 babies were born alive after late-term abortions in Canada between 2013 and 2018 and presumably left to die.

There were 368,928 babies born in Canada from 2024 to 2025, a number that would be much greater if not for abortion. For context, in 2022, 97,211 Canadian babies were killed by abortion.

Pro-life group calls on people to take action to end late-term and born-alive abortions 

Prolife Alberta has shared below what Albertans can do in the meantime to take action in defense of life.

People can email Matt Jones, the Minister of Hospitals and Surgical Health Services ([email protected]).

“Keep it simple. Keep it focused. Tell Minister Jones this is about neonatal care, not politics. Ask him to support immediate updates to AHS policies (PS-92 and HCS-183-01 – these are the specific policies that currently allow babies that are born premature to be left to die without care,” says Prolife Alberta.

Albertans can also phone 780-644-8417 and leave a message.

“Say this: Please ensure that any child born alive in Alberta receives appropriate medical care. Amend AHS policies (PS-92 and HCS-183-01). This is a matter of law and basic human dignity,” says Prolife Alberta.