ClinicQuotes

1982: Live birth during abortion was “everyday occurrence”

An article in the Philadelphia Inquirer commented on how often abortion resulted in a live birth:

“In fact, for every case [of the live birth of an aborted baby] that does become known, a hundred probably go unreported. Dr. Willard Cates, an expert on medical statistics who is chief of abortion surveillance for the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, estimates that 400 to 500 abortion live births occur every year in the United States. That is only a tiny fraction of the nation’s 1.5 million abortions. Still, it means that these unintended live births are literally an everyday occurrence.

They are little known because organized medicine, from fear of public clamor and legal action, treats them more as an embarrassment to be hushed up than a problem to be solved. “It’s like turning yourself in to the IRS for an audit,” Cates says. “What is there to gain? The tendency is not to report because there are only negative incentives…”

By ignoring the problem of abortion live births, the courts and the medical establishment are choosing to overlook a long, well-documented history of cases.

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

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Doctor: Abortion isn’t a popular thing for doctors to do

James Gerrard, general practitioner who is often asked by women to refer them for abortions:

“Medically, abortion really isn’t a popular thing to do, it is not a very technical or demanding operation and it’s actually quite disheartening.

There’s no handshakes or slaps on the backs afterwards, or the sense that you’ve done something great for someone. The best you can hope for is sense of relief that it is over.

In my day to day work I deal with requests for terminations but I have a conscientious objection to that. During the consultation I will tell them because of my personal views I cannot refer them to hospital for the procedure and they will have to speak with another doctor. Out of the six doctors in our practice, three of us object to abortion.”

Jeremy Lauranc “ABORTION CRISIS AS DOCTORS REFUSE TO PERFORM SURGERY” The Independent, 16 April 2007

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Rape survivor: Abortion intensified my pain

Rape survivor Julie Crockett recounts her story:

“When I was 12 a youth/music minister in his early 20s offered to teach me guitar lessons. My parents readily agreed for his church position was all the credential they needed. Soon the music lessons turned into rape sessions. My past history of abuse increased my vulnerability.

Surprisingly, I conceived. But an unmarried pregnant daughter would have forced my parents out of the mission field, and they were trapped. They had taught me to value life. Yet when they took me to the doctor to confirm pregnancy, they conspired with him to perform a chemical abortion. They told me they didn’t know if I was pregnant or not but the pills would cause me no harm if I were. I celebrated the day my baby died, thinking my period had started. Soon I was put in the hospital with a severe uterine infection. Naïvely, I didn’t put the pieces together until much later – much too late to save my baby.”

Her parents had her aborted without every giving her a choice. She goes on to explain how she suffered after the abortion:

“The abortion has greatly affected every area of my life. I’ve battled suicide, longing for the intense pain to end. I couldn’t save myself from the abuse and rape. I couldn’t save my baby from the abortion. Powerlessness overwhelmed me. Guilt plagued me. Emptiness consumed me as the realization hit that I wouldn’t see or hold him this side of heaven.”

She says:

“People argue that in the face of rape and incest, abortion is not only acceptable but kind. Having lived through all three, I know firsthand that abortion was far more damaging than abuse or rape. Had I been given the choice even of adoption, I wouldn’t be dealing with the death of a child. My life was at risk because the abortion’s pain pushed me toward full-blown anorexia. In the attempt to spare me through abortion, I was almost consumed. What is more final than death? The belief is that it would be cruel to force a child to carry a baby conceived in violence. I have found the opposite to be true. The abortion didn’t relieve the pain of rape and incest. Rather, abortion intensified my pain. The day my baby died, a part of me died with him.”

Wendy Williams, Ann Caldwell Empty Arms: More Than 60 Life-Giving Stories of Hope from the Devastation of Abortion (Chattanooga, Tennessee: Living Ink Books, 2005) 60 – 64

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Women Exploited by Abortion pamphlet Surviving Abortion

Women Exploited by Abortion (WEBA), a support group for women who regret their abortions, says the following in a pamphlet called “Surviving Abortion”:

“You may be led to believe, by doctors, abortion facility counselors, or other “family planning” personnel, by other women who have had abortions, psychiatrists, parents, husband, or boyfriend that your grief is illegitimate. This frequently leads women to feel foolish, selfish or guilty about their grief and that just makes their already confused state more stressful. . . . There is a paternalistic attitude in the abortion field that seems to promote an opinion that an uninformed decision is a less painful one. We know that the opposite is true. “

Camille S. Williams “Abortion and the Actualized Self” First Things November 1991

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Abortion doctor: colleagues can be rude

In an article on the declining number of doctors willing to perform abortions in Great Britain, it says:

“In Britain [abortion] was regarded as low status and unglamorous….

The head of the abortion service in Hull, Kate Guthrie, who performs terminations regularly, is aware that it is not a comfortable career choice.”

Guthrie says:

“In a social environment people can go cold on you. Others are really interested. But the worst are colleagues – they can be overtly rude.”

Jeremy Lauranc “ABORTION CRISIS AS DOCTORS REFUSE TO PERFORM SURGERY” The Independent, 16 April 2007

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Pro-choicer: Ambivalence about abortion is normal

Pro-abortion activist Jeanne Parr Lemkau, concludes that:

“Ambivalence about abortion is normal—it doesn’t mean you have psychological problems.”

Camille S. Williams “Abortion and the Actualized Self” First Things November 1991

She is responding to claims about postabortion syndrome and abortion regret among women.

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Woman chooses life after seeing “little human” on ultrasound

A woman went to Planned Parenthood to get an abortion, partly due to health problems she had. But she saw her baby on the ultrasound:

“I had convinced myself at first to get an abortion. I talked myself into it thinking it was justifiable because of my injuries and how hard it would be on me. And the list of how easy it would be on me was long if I just got an abortion.”

Planned Parenthood allowed her to see the sonogram image of her 10 week old baby. Perhaps the law in her state required her to be shown the ultrasound:

“After first visiting an Ob/gyn, I went to one appointment at Planned Parenthood, without telling anyone I was going. At the first appointment, I was 10 weeks along. They performed an ultrasound and I saw the baby — I saw that at just 10 weeks, she looked human. …I made the follow up appointment for a couple days later to have the “procedure done.”

She went back to the abortion clinic twice, but each time returned home without having the abortion. Finally, she decided to keep her baby after looking again at the printed ultrasound picture:

“I looked at the ultrasound photo from three days prior, saw the little human, and just started to cry.

I realized I had made so many “me” and “I” statements. I am poor, living on V.A. disability. I found a bunch of reasons to not have this baby. But as I sat there, I realized I made a choice to have sex — the baby did not ask to be here. At that moment, I realized, “Who am I to pick which of my kids lives and which one dies?” It wasn’t as simple as a “procedure,” and that was the thing — I was going to kill a baby. The baby has a heartbeat, a face, fingers and toes.”

She named her daughter Alexia Grace.

LAUREN LEE “I Was on the Way to the Abortion Clinic to Abort My Baby, Then This Happened” LifeNews SEP 22, 2014

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OB/GYN sent three healthy women for late-term abortions

An OB/GYN admitted to sending three healthy women with healthy babies for late-term abortions:

“In testimony presented to the Senate Judiciary Committee on November 17, 1995, ob/gyn Dr. Nancy Romer of Dayton (the city in which Dr. [Martin] Haskell [late term abortionist] operates one of his abortion clinics) testified that three of her own patients had gone to Haskell’s clinic for abortions “well beyond” 4 1/2 months into pregnancy, and that “none of these women had any medical illness, and all three had normal fetuses.”

“For what reasons are partial-birth abortions usually performed?” National Right to Life” Visited 9/1/2017

Four months – the aborted babies were older than this

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Very pro-choice woman still came to regret her abortion

Rosalie DiMaggio was firmly pro-choice when she had her abortion, but she came to regret it anyway:

“I knew abortion was an option for me, and I loved having that choice. It gave me power over my life. I talked to a supportive girlfriend who offered to go with me to the clinic. …

I was not influenced by any one person but by the society and culture I lived in. I was in favor of legalized abortion, I supported the women’s movement. …

Afterwards, my life took a downward turn, but I didn’t know it was related to the abortion. I can only see that now. I got divorced and involved with another man right away, and he became cruel and abusive. I started to drink excessively and spent a lot of time crying. I wanted to die and even planned my suicide…

When I stopped living in denial, I came to terms with the fact that I had killed my child.”

Wendy Williams, Ann Caldwell Empty Arms: More Than 60 Life-Giving Stories of Hope from the Devastation of Abortion (Chattanooga, Tennessee: Living Ink Books, 2005) 44 – 45

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Abortionist Dr. Martin Haskell on why he did late term abortions

Dr. Martin Haskell did late term abortions. An article by National Right to Life discusses what he said the woman’s reasons are.

“In a lawsuit in 1995, Dr. Haskell testified that women come to him for partial-birth abortions with “a variety of conditions. Some medical, some not so medical.” Among the “medical” examples he cited was “agoraphobia” (fear of open places).”

“For what reasons are partial-birth abortions usually performed?” National Right to Life” Visited 9/1/2017

Clearly, many of the late-term abortions Dr. Haskell did were for reasons that were elective or unrelated to the health of the woman or the baby. It could be argued whether mental illness such as a agoraphobia is a legitimate reason to have a late-term abortion.

Remains of a late-term abortion, similar to the ones Dr. Haskell did

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