People actually support killing babies *after* they are born?
Earlier this month, Virginia Democrats completely shocked scores of Virginians, including me, by blocking legislation that would require doctors to provide life-saving care to infants who are born alive as a result of botched attempted abortions.
This common-sense bill, known as the Born-Alive Survivors Protection Act, which was sponsored by Del. Nick Freitas and passed by Virginia’s House of Delegates on February 16 by a 52-48 vote, would have required every health care provider licensed by the Board of Medicine who attempts to terminate a pregnancy to do two things. First, they must exercise the same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and health of an infant who has been born alive following such attempt as a reasonably diligent and conscientious health care practitioner would provide to any other child born alive at the same gestational age. Second, they must take all reasonable steps to ensure the immediate transfer of the infant who has been born alive to a hospital for further medial care.
If you’re like me, you’re scratching your head and wondering why we need a law requiring medical professionals to do everything in their power to keep a newly born child alive. After all, aren’t medical professionals in the business of saving lives? Well, apparently, some of them aren’t…no, I’m not kidding, either.
You might remember when Gov. Northam, who is also a pediatric neurologist (insert eye roll here), went on a radio program in 2019 to show his support for a bill sponsored by Del. Kathy Tran that would have effectively removed all protections for third-trimester babies and even allowed an abortion to take place while a woman was in the middle of giving birth (GASP). During this interview, Northam even admitted that, under this bill, if a baby were born alive during an attempted abortion, he or she would be kept “comfortable” while the mother and doctor discussed whether to keep the child alive (BIGGER GASP). To be clear, what former Gov. Northam described is infanticide, plain and simple, and HB 304 was proposed by Del. Freitas to stop this atrocity from occurring.
So, why are people opposed to born-alive legislation?
They’re not. In fact, an overwhelming majority of Americans, both conservatives and liberals, believe that every newborn deserves life-saving medical care regardless of the circumstances surrounding his or her birth. In fact, Susan B. Anthony List reports that 77 percent of voters support legislation guaranteeing that babies who survive failed abortion attempts be given the same medical treatment as any other baby born prematurely at the same age. Additionally, 76 percent of all respondents support pro-life protections for children born alive during abortions. Furthermore, 35 states have passed these sensible laws providing further proof that Americans on both sides of the abortion issue support “born-alive” legislation.
Do babies survive failed abortions?
The simple answer is YES!
According to the Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI), a 1981 article in the Philadelphia Inquirer quoted then-director of abortion surveillance at the Center for Disease Control (CDC) as estimating that “400-500 abortion live births” occurred every year in the United States.
An April 2021 report by the Family Research Council states that between 2003-2014, the CDC reports that at least 143 infants died after being born alive during an abortion procedure and it’s likely that the actual number is much higher. Furthermore, CLI notes that the CDC report doesn’t include babies who survived attempted abortions and are still alive – it only counts those babies who passed away after being born alive.
According to LifeNews.com, the national Abortion Survivors Network reports having identified nearly 400 individuals since 2012 in the United States who have survived an abortion.
A study published in Obstetrics & Gynecology in 2018 examined 241 late-term abortions and recounted that unless the unborn baby was killed first, more than half the babies were born alive.
How often do late-term abortions result in live births?
Because there are no federal abortion reporting requirements, there are massive gaps in national and state abortion reporting, we don’t have a definitive answer to this question.
However, Melissa Ohden and Gianna Jessen provide us with living proof that it is absolutely possible to survive an attempted abortion.
In 2015, Melissa Ohden testified before the House Judiciary Committee, “You wouldn’t know it by looking at me today, but in August of 1977, I survived a failed saline infusion abortion…I know where children like me were left to die at St. Luke’s Hospital – a utility closet. In 2014, I met a nurse who assisted in a saline infusion abortion there in 1976 and delivered a living baby boy. After he was delivered alive, she followed her superior’s orders and placed him in a utility closet in a bucket of formaldehyde to be picked up later as medical waste after he died there alone.”
Gianna Jessen also testified before the House Judiciary Committee in 2015 stating, “I was delivered alive in an abortion clinic in Los Angeles on April 6th, 1977. My medical records state: ‘Born alive during saline abortion at 6am. Thankfully, the abortionist was not at work yet. Had he been there, he would have ended my life with strangulation, suffocation, or leaving me there to die.
What happens to a child after a failed abortion?
The sad and simple answer is that we don’t really know. Since abortionists aren’t required to report any information about infants who are born alive, there isn’t a great deal of information to conclusively answer this question. However, we do know what was done to babies who were born alive in Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell’s clinic because of testimony from his 2013 murder trial. Here are just a few details shared by the aforementioned Family Research Council report:
One employee testified that she witnessed Gosnell “snip the necks of more than 30 babies.”
A witness stated that one of the babies was reportedly moving and breathing for 20 minutes before an employee cut the spinal cord.
Another witness stated that Gosnell severed the spine of a baby that was moving and breathing and then put the body in a plastic shoebox for disposal.
Equally offensive are the alleged actions of Houston abortionist Douglas Karpen:
Karpen’s former assistant testified that, “When he did an abortion, especially an over 20-week abortion, most of the time the fetus would come completely out before he either cut the spinal cord or he introduced one of the instruments into the soft spot of the fetus in order to kill it.”
In one instance, a baby that Karpen thought was dead, opened his eyes and grabbed Karpen’s finger after he pulled the baby from the womb. Sadly, this newborn died just like so many other babies in Karpen’s “clinic.”
For those who believe this issue is about “women’s reproductive rights” or “a woman’s right to choose,” let me make something perfectly clear – YOU ARE WRONG. The issue is no longer about abortion – it’s about the obligation of medical professionals to follow certain ethical guidelines, including making every effort to provide proper care and treatment of babies.
When I was growing up, my dad told me lots of stories about his childhood in Iowa. I heard about snow drifts, scorching hot summers on the lake, hanging out at the “Corner Drug” with friends, and so many more. But there’s one story my dad shared with me that has stayed with me for over 40 years:
One summer when my dad was 14, he worked for a veterinarian named Dr. Peterson, and they were called out to a farm to tend to a pig who was having difficulty giving birth to one of her offspring. After Dr. Peterson pulled the baby piglet from the mother’s womb, they noticed that the baby pig had two heads. It was pretty obvious to them both that the piglet would likely die, but Dr. Peterson turned the piglet over and started tapping on its chest. My dad said, “What are you doing, Doc?” and Dr. Peterson replied, “I have an ethical obligation to do whatever I can to save this pig.”
There was no ambiguity for Dr. Peterson in the 1950’s when it came to saving a baby pig. This was a live, breathing creature that needed proper care and treatment, and Dr. Peterson provided this to the piglet until it finally passed. It seems so simple, doesn’t it?
