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The Truth about Partial Birth Abortion
I think it's time that Canadians knew about what a gruesome procedure Partial Birth Abortion is. They must also know that it is absolutely legal in Canada. There are no laws against ANY abortion right now. Abortion is legal right up until the time the mother expels a live baby. Before that, anything goes. And anything does. According to medical ethicist Margaret Somerville, there were 243 late-term abortions in 2001, the last year for which we have such statistics. And those only include abortions for which we know the period during which they were committed.
Often, the poor-choice side of the debate accuses the Fetal Rights side of dishonesty. Since they're the experts at abortion, I am more than willing to entertain the notion that people who commit abortions know more about this than I do. After all, it's their stock and trade. I would also like to underscore that calling a "Dilation and Extraction" (a "D and E") a Partial Birth Abortion is no more dishonest than calling rhinoplasty a nose job. I am certain that Partial Birth Abortion does not exist in any medical dictionary, but that doesn't mean it's a dishonest phrase. It's probably more honest than the aseptic-sounding "D and E".
In 2004, in the US, there were several court challenges launched against laws that banned Partial Birth Abortion, especially the federal law signed by President Bush in November 2003. A number of providers who do these partial birth abortions testified about the procedure.
For pro-lifers, all abortions are gruesome, but some are more barbaric than others. The heinousness of partial birth abortion derives from the fact that a second- or third- trimester baby-- often viable-- is partially delivered so that the head remains in the womb, but the rest of the body is exposed. The abortionist then takes a sharp instrument, such as scissors, and uses it to puncture the baby's skull to collapse it, suck out the brain, killing the baby and facilitating delivery. This is corroborated by abortionist Carolyn Westhoff's testimony in New York District Court Case to overturn that law.
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2004/apr/04040503.html
Quote:
"After Westhoff said that some women like to hold the dead baby to facilitate grieving, Judge Casey asked "Did you tell them you were sucking the brains out of the same baby they desired to hold?" "They know the head's empty," Westhoff replied. "I don't tell them I'm sucking the brain out.""
Abortionist Timothy Johnson corroborated this testimony:
[Judge] Casey also wanted to know if women were informed that the abortion involved "sucking the brain out of the skull." "I don't think we would use those terms," Johnson replied. "I think we would probably use a term like decompression of the skull or reducing the contents of the skull."
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2004/apr/04040102.html
The fetus can also dismembered as well in order to facilitate deliver. Abortionist Timothy Johnson testified:
Quote:
[Judge] Casey also wanted to know if women were informed that their child would be dismembered before dying. "So you tell her the arms and legs are pulled off?" he asked. "I mean, that's what I want to know. Do you tell her?" "We tell her the baby, the fetus, is dismembered as part of the procedure, yes," Johnson replied.
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2004/apr/04040102.html
And if the baby's head gets stuck, the abortionist simply rips the baby's head off:
Quote:
The abortionist continued his horrific testimony by saying: "I have continued to pull the body and the head comes off. I have also used scissors to pierce the base of the skull and suction out the brains, or I have also used an instrument to reach up and crush the skull."
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2004/apr/04040807.html
There you have it, straight from the mouths of people who do late-terms abortions for a living. And as if this weren't bad enough, the abortionists give no consideration to the suffering of the child. Abortionist Timothy Johnson said he was not aware as to whether the child suffered and was unaware of any studies as to whether the fetus feels pain-- as if you'd need a study to know that!
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2004/apr/04040102.html
And we're the extremists for opposing this?
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