ClinicQuotes

Dr. Warren Pearse, then executive director of American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, was asked what abortionists do when a baby is born alive during an abortion.

”What you would do next [after expulsion] is nothing. You assume the infant is dead unless it shows signs of life. You’re dealing with a dead fetus unless there is sustained respiration- its not enough if there’s a single heartbeat or an occasional gasp.”

“Abortion: The Dreaded Complication” by Liz Jeffries and Rick Edmonds, Philadelphia Inquirer Aug 2, 1982

The article “Abortion: The Dreaded Complication” by Liz Jeffries and Rick Edmonds, Philadelphia Inquirer Aug 2, 1982 documented the following case.

“July 1979, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, Dr. Boyd Cooper delivered an apparently stillborn infant after having ended a problem pregnancy of 23 weeks. Half an hour later the baby made gasping attempts to breathe, but no efforts were made to resuscitate it because of its size (1 pound 2 ounces) and the wishes of the parents. The baby was taken to a small utility room that was used, among other tings, as an infant morgue. Told of the continued gasping, Cooper instructed a nurse, “Leave the baby there- it will die.” Twelve hours later, according to testimony of the nurse, Laura VanArsdale, she returned to work and found the infant still in the closet, still gasping.

Cooper then agreed to have the baby boy transferred to an intensive care unit, where he died four days later. A coroner’s jury ruled the death “accidental” rather than natural but found nothing in Cooper’s conduct to warrant criminal action.”

How many other cases have there been over the years?

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports on a baby born alive during a botched abortion in July of 1974:

“July 1974. West Penn Hospital, Pittsburgh: Dr. Leonard Laufe performed an abortion on a woman who contended she had been raped- though that and her account of when she became pregnant were later disputed. She had been turned down for an abortion at another hospital, where the term of her pregnancy was estimated at 26 to 31 weeks. Laufe put it at 20 to 22. The abortion, induced by injection of prostaglandin, a substance that stimulates muscle contraction and delivery of the fetus, was filmed for use as an instructional film. The film showed the three-pound infant moving and gasping. Also, a nurse and a medical student testified that they had notice signs of life. No charges were filed, however, after a coroner’s inquest at which Laufe testified that the infant sustained fatal damage during delivery.”

“Abortion: The Dreaded Complication” by Liz Jeffries and Rick Edmonds, Philadelphia Inquirer Aug 2, 1982

The Philadelphia Inquirer told the story of a baby born alive during a botched abortion at Greater Bakersfield Hospital in California in 1973:

“April 1973, Greater Bakersfield Hospital, Bakersfield, California: A 4 ½ pound infant was born live following a saline abortion (induced by an injection of salt solution) performed by Dr. Xavier Hall Ramirez. Informed by phone, Dr. Ramirez ordered two nurses to discontinue administering oxygen to the baby.  His instructions were countermanded by another doctor; the baby survived and was placed for adoption. Ramirez was indicted for solicitation to commit murder. His attorney argued that a medical order based on medical opinion, no matter how mistaken, is privileged. Dr. Irvin M. Cushner of the University of California at Los Angeles, later to become a top health policy official in the Carter administration; testified that it was normal for Ramirez to expect the delivery of a dead or certain to die infant as the result of a saline abortion.”

“Abortion: The Dreaded Complication” by Liz Jeffries and Rick Edmonds, Philadelphia Inquirer Aug 2, 1982: