Midwife Mrs. Siv Bertilsson tells her story:
I have worked 36 years as a midwife in maternity and obstetric care. Now there is a reorganization at the women’s clinic, which means that the late-term abortions after week 12 will be performed at the maternity ward. I have during my professional career worked with both gynecology and maternity care. Therefore, I have horrible memories from my time at the gynecology ward where I participated in late-term abortions, most around week 16 where the fetus struggled and tried to breathe for 5-15 minutes. Because there are no rules or regulations on what one should do with a fetus that is struggling for life, you leave the fetus to die by itself in a round bowl or a basin. Horribly inhumane, I think. And this is not an unusual event.’
Approximately 25% in week 16-17 live for a certain time. … I had decided to never ever concern myself with this chore. I am now forced to stop working as a midwife? How should I act? And if I’m forced to continue to bring myself to do this again, what do I do with the fetus when it is alive? I read in the Animal Welfare Act how to kill kittens, puppies or other small animals, and there are clear rules for how the killing should be done in a way that does not cause anxiety or pain to the animal.
Grégor Puppinck PhD (Dir.), Claire de La Hougue PhD, Andreea Popescu, Christophe Foltzenlogel. “Late Term Abortion & Neonatal Infanticide in Europe: Petition for the Rights of Newborns Surviving Their Abortion” European Centre for Law and Justice 2015
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