Scientists restore eye sight by stem cell treatment
The stem cells were taken from the patient's other, undamaged, eye.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
1997: patient, taken off monitor, dies after abortion
WAKE-UP has posted state medical board disciplinary documents against Dr. Earl McLeod, regarding the death of an abortion patient on December 21, 1997. WAKE-UP has identified her by name, but do not indicate where they learned her identity. I am therefore still working on verifying her name. But this is what I have learned:
On December 20, 1997, a 27-year-old woman went to Potomac Family Planning for a safe, legal abortion, to be performed by D&C. She was 6 weeks pregnant. She had no significant medical or surgical history, but had undergone a prior abortion performed by McLeod in 1995, under general anesthesia, with no complications.
McLeod's anesthesiologist, identified in records only as Dr. K., started an IV, and the woman was hooked up to a cardiac monitor, blood pressure monitor, and pulse oximeter. Dr. K administered Versed (for sedation and memory impairment), Sublimaze (a short-acting narcotic used for short-duration pain control), Propofol (a sedative for anesthesia), with Lidocaine, a local anesthetic.
The patient breathed on her own during the entire five minutes of the abortion. She was transferred to recovery at 10:10 a.m., still unconscious but breathing on her own. Her blood pressure was charted as 112/60 (normal), but her pulse was 103 (very rapid). A nurse identified only as Nurse W put an oxygen mask on the patient, but she was taken off the cardiac monitor and pulse oximeter when she was moved to recovery.
After the patient's vital signs were documented, another nurse, identified as Nurse H, took the blood pressure cuff off of her and put it on another patient.
Meanwhile, McLeod was in a second procedure room, doing an abortion on another patient.
At around 10:20 a.m., Nurse W noticed that the patient was still unresponsive. She told a nursing assistant to get Zoloft (an antidepressant) from the anesthesiologist, who was still in the second procedure room with McLeod. As the assistant was leaving, Nurse W change the request to one for Zofran (an antiemetic). Then Nurse W went into the procedure room herself to get the Zofran.
Dr. K gave the Zofran to Nurse W without evaluating the patient. There was no record that the patient had suffered any nausea or vomiting to warrant the drug in question. At about 10:25, Nurse W administered Zofran to the patient through her IV. Not surprisingly, administering an antiemetic did nothing to revive her.
Nurse W returned to the procedure room and asked Kr. K for Romazicon, a more appropriate drug, since it is used to reverse the effects of drugs used for anesthesia. Dr. K again provided the drug to Nurse W without examining the patient.
Nurse H went to take the patient's blood pressure, and she realized she couldn't find a pulse, and that the patient's pupils were dilated. She fetched Dr. K to assess the patient immediately. He found her unresponsive, with a blood pressure an alarmingly low 60/40. He stared a second IV and began to perform CPR, using a pediatric-sized bag-valve mask. Nurse H took over ventilating the patient, continuing to use the pediatric-sized bag-valve mask. This device would be unable to pump sufficient air into the lungs of a normal-sized adult.
Meanwhile, McLeod performed two other procedures before finally entering the recovery room and finding his staff performing inadequate CPR on the patient. He administered additional IV medications, and said that the patient was hooked up to an EKG monitor even though there was no documentation whatsoever of her cardiac rhythm. She was also not hooked up to a pulse oximeter that would tell the staff how much oxygen was in her blood. A pulse oximeter is standard monitoring for post-surgical patients and for patients needing emergency care; failure to use it on this patient was inexplicable. Also, despite the presence of two doctors, two nurses, and at least one nurses' assistant, nobody documented respiration, lung sounds, or any neurological evaluation, all standard for treating an unresponsive patient.
Dr. K told somebody to administer Epinephrine, Ephedrine, and Lidocaine -- all appropriate drugs for treating a patient in cardiac arrest.
Finally, at around 10:42 a.m., McLeod told somebody to call 911 -- something that should have been done as soon as she was found to be unresponsive. Paramedics arrived and found the patient in cardiac arrest. The anesthesiologist could not tell them anything about the patient's heart electrical activity, which he should have been noting on the EKG. They noted the use of a pediatric bag-valve mask, and the fact that nobody had put a breathing tube into the patient to ensure that air was being pumped into her lungs and not her stomach.
The medics immediately began appropriate resuscitation, intubating the patient, ventilating her with an adult-sized bag=valve mask, hooking her up to a cardiac monitor, defibrillating her, and administering appropriate drugs.
The medics transported the patient to Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, arriving at 11:09 a.m. The ER physician noted that the patient's pupils were fixed and dilated. After aggressive resuscitative efforts by ER staff, the patient's heart was restored to a stable rhythm, and she was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. But despite their best efforts, she died at 4:15 a.m. on December 21.
The appalled paramedics reported McLeod to the medical board, which faulted him with failure to provide adequate and readily-available post-operative monitoring equipment, and failure to provide adequate emergency supplies. The board also required him to get his staff properly certified in CPR.
An interesting note is this: The medical board indicates that McLeod told them that when he first opened his abortion clinic, he contacted the state asking for guidelines for a freestanding abortion clinic. He was told, he said, that there were none.
McLeod also ran the Hillcrest abortion mill in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where Kelly Morse had died in 1996 after being inadequately resuscitated. Kelly's husband filed suit, noting, "No respiration rate was recorded, no pulse was checked and no blood pressure was measured. No EKG was applied. No cardiac monitoring was conducted. No pulse oximeter was applied. No intubation or emergency tracheotomy was performed." Evidently McLeod chose not to learn from Kelly's death the lessons that would have saved this Maryland patient's life.
On December 20, 1997, a 27-year-old woman went to Potomac Family Planning for a safe, legal abortion, to be performed by D&C. She was 6 weeks pregnant. She had no significant medical or surgical history, but had undergone a prior abortion performed by McLeod in 1995, under general anesthesia, with no complications.
McLeod's anesthesiologist, identified in records only as Dr. K., started an IV, and the woman was hooked up to a cardiac monitor, blood pressure monitor, and pulse oximeter. Dr. K administered Versed (for sedation and memory impairment), Sublimaze (a short-acting narcotic used for short-duration pain control), Propofol (a sedative for anesthesia), with Lidocaine, a local anesthetic.
The patient breathed on her own during the entire five minutes of the abortion. She was transferred to recovery at 10:10 a.m., still unconscious but breathing on her own. Her blood pressure was charted as 112/60 (normal), but her pulse was 103 (very rapid). A nurse identified only as Nurse W put an oxygen mask on the patient, but she was taken off the cardiac monitor and pulse oximeter when she was moved to recovery.
After the patient's vital signs were documented, another nurse, identified as Nurse H, took the blood pressure cuff off of her and put it on another patient.
Meanwhile, McLeod was in a second procedure room, doing an abortion on another patient.
At around 10:20 a.m., Nurse W noticed that the patient was still unresponsive. She told a nursing assistant to get Zoloft (an antidepressant) from the anesthesiologist, who was still in the second procedure room with McLeod. As the assistant was leaving, Nurse W change the request to one for Zofran (an antiemetic). Then Nurse W went into the procedure room herself to get the Zofran.
Dr. K gave the Zofran to Nurse W without evaluating the patient. There was no record that the patient had suffered any nausea or vomiting to warrant the drug in question. At about 10:25, Nurse W administered Zofran to the patient through her IV. Not surprisingly, administering an antiemetic did nothing to revive her.
Nurse W returned to the procedure room and asked Kr. K for Romazicon, a more appropriate drug, since it is used to reverse the effects of drugs used for anesthesia. Dr. K again provided the drug to Nurse W without examining the patient.
Nurse H went to take the patient's blood pressure, and she realized she couldn't find a pulse, and that the patient's pupils were dilated. She fetched Dr. K to assess the patient immediately. He found her unresponsive, with a blood pressure an alarmingly low 60/40. He stared a second IV and began to perform CPR, using a pediatric-sized bag-valve mask. Nurse H took over ventilating the patient, continuing to use the pediatric-sized bag-valve mask. This device would be unable to pump sufficient air into the lungs of a normal-sized adult.
Meanwhile, McLeod performed two other procedures before finally entering the recovery room and finding his staff performing inadequate CPR on the patient. He administered additional IV medications, and said that the patient was hooked up to an EKG monitor even though there was no documentation whatsoever of her cardiac rhythm. She was also not hooked up to a pulse oximeter that would tell the staff how much oxygen was in her blood. A pulse oximeter is standard monitoring for post-surgical patients and for patients needing emergency care; failure to use it on this patient was inexplicable. Also, despite the presence of two doctors, two nurses, and at least one nurses' assistant, nobody documented respiration, lung sounds, or any neurological evaluation, all standard for treating an unresponsive patient.
Dr. K told somebody to administer Epinephrine, Ephedrine, and Lidocaine -- all appropriate drugs for treating a patient in cardiac arrest.
Finally, at around 10:42 a.m., McLeod told somebody to call 911 -- something that should have been done as soon as she was found to be unresponsive. Paramedics arrived and found the patient in cardiac arrest. The anesthesiologist could not tell them anything about the patient's heart electrical activity, which he should have been noting on the EKG. They noted the use of a pediatric bag-valve mask, and the fact that nobody had put a breathing tube into the patient to ensure that air was being pumped into her lungs and not her stomach.
The medics immediately began appropriate resuscitation, intubating the patient, ventilating her with an adult-sized bag=valve mask, hooking her up to a cardiac monitor, defibrillating her, and administering appropriate drugs.
The medics transported the patient to Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, arriving at 11:09 a.m. The ER physician noted that the patient's pupils were fixed and dilated. After aggressive resuscitative efforts by ER staff, the patient's heart was restored to a stable rhythm, and she was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. But despite their best efforts, she died at 4:15 a.m. on December 21.
The appalled paramedics reported McLeod to the medical board, which faulted him with failure to provide adequate and readily-available post-operative monitoring equipment, and failure to provide adequate emergency supplies. The board also required him to get his staff properly certified in CPR.
An interesting note is this: The medical board indicates that McLeod told them that when he first opened his abortion clinic, he contacted the state asking for guidelines for a freestanding abortion clinic. He was told, he said, that there were none.
McLeod also ran the Hillcrest abortion mill in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where Kelly Morse had died in 1996 after being inadequately resuscitated. Kelly's husband filed suit, noting, "No respiration rate was recorded, no pulse was checked and no blood pressure was measured. No EKG was applied. No cardiac monitoring was conducted. No pulse oximeter was applied. No intubation or emergency tracheotomy was performed." Evidently McLeod chose not to learn from Kelly's death the lessons that would have saved this Maryland patient's life.
1926: Fatal abortion by Chicago midwife
On December 20, 1926, 23-year-old Mary Paradowski died in a Chicago hospital of complications of a criminal abortion that had been performed on December 13. An investigation lead to the indictment of midwife Josephine Petrova for felony murder in Mary's death.
For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion
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For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion
To email this post to a friend, use the icon below.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Amazing insight from a very credible (and funny!) source
Sean Stephenson recounts a date gone awry, and the lesson he took from it.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Abortion advocates block prosecution for killing of born baby
In the state of Virginia, as long as the cord hasn't been cut yet, the mother can "shoot the baby, stab the baby", and she's just performing a late abortion on herself.
Virginia lawmakers refuse to protect fully-born infants whose cords aren't cut yet because to do so would get "too close" to the issue of abortion.
So much for the idea that abortion advocates are only concerned about women's rights to their own bodily integrity. The baby was BORN. And they still say she has a right to kill it.
HT: Parenting Freedom
Though really, couldn't this be prosecuted federally under the Born Alive Infants Protection Act?
Thursday, December 17, 2009
A bittersweet anniversary. Happy birthday, Ximena.
At 3:20 a.m. on December 17, 1985, 22-year-old Nadine Bourne gave birth to her baby while seated on a toilet at Vancouver General Hospital. The little girl weighed about three pounds -- consistent with an infant of 30 or 31 weeks gestation, well into the third trimester. The trouble was, Nadine had been admitted to Vancouver General Hospital the day before to be treated for fever and rapid pulse after an abortion she'd undergone four days earlier at a Bellingham, Washington Planned Parenthood. Nadine had told hospital staff that she'd been 14 to 16 weeks pregnant. Dr. Jaroudi, a resident summoned by the Emergency Room physician when Nadine was admitted, examined the young woman but failed to notice that she was still pregnant. The baby came as a complete and very unwelcome surprise to everybody.
A nurse, Vera Wood, did not call a resuscitation team or an infant transport team to take the shivering, whimpering, gasping infant to Children's hospital. Instead, according to court records, "She took the baby into the service room where dead fetuses are stored, and left it there [in a bedpan] for 40 minutes."
Thomas Berger, an attorney representing the child and her adoptive family noted, "We could prove that Vera Wood and other nurses did nothing to suction the baby or to provide warmth or oxygen for the child. Our case was that the baby suffered severe [trauma] as a result of these acts or omissions by VGH and its employees, resulting in brain damage in the form of mental retardation and cerebral palsy." After 40 minutes, nurse Wood called the night nursing supervisor, Joyce Hatherall, who cleared the baby's air passages, provided warmth and called for oxygen.
Mr. Berger also said, "We also had evidence that Dr. Jaroudi, called up to the ward, realized the baby had been delivered by Nadine Bourne, and realized it was viable, but nevertheless told the nurses not to resuscitate the baby ('...let it go')." Which, while not exactly rushing to the child's aid, was an improvement over what William Waddill did while nurses were attempting to resuscitate Baby W. in a California hospital. Jaroudi's attempt to complete the abortion was limited to an order to let the baby die, an order Joyce Hatherall ignored.
But even after Hatherall's intervention, the baby was placed on a metal counter, where she likely suffered further hypothermia. And when Jaroudi finally contacted the transport team for Children's Hospital, he gave them insufficient information, causing an additional half-hour delay in providing care to the baby.
That neglected baby, left to die, has since been adopted. And she has a name: Ximena Renearts. But thanks to the attempts on her life both before and after her birth, she suffered permanent brain damage. She is quadriplegic and has the mental capacity of a three-year-old.
BC police made two abortive (how appropriate!) investigations of the case, with spokesman Sergeant Bob Cooper calling the case "bullshit", comparing it to cases where children die when being delivered by midwives. Which leaves me wondering if BC midwives routinely leave premature infants in metal bedpans in the closet for over half an hour at a time before somebody else comes along and provides care over the midwives' objections.
Part of the reason for the callous attitude of the police may be that the spokesman for the BC Minister of Health's Office, Michelle Stewart, is dismissive of the issue of infants born live during abortions, commenting, "As you know, this Ministry is very much in favor of giving women choices about their reproductive health." British Columbia's Chief Coroner Larry Campbell included a letter in a report on such live births, and dismissed them as to be expected in abortion and therefore outside the purview of BC coroners, who only get involved if a death is "unexpected". In other words, at least in British Columbia, abortion is 100% about achieving the death of the infant, even if the infant is born alive. Which leaves me to wonder if a perpetrator who shot Ximena dead tomorrow would face charges at all. Is she still, legally, only an aborted fetus?
The family filed suit against the hospital, the doctor, and the nurse, settling out of court for over $8 million, which will be used to build an accessible house for Ximena and to provide her with the care she will need for the rest of her life.
The hospital never conducted an internal review of how a live-born infant was treated like a pathology specimen on their premises, in violation of the law forbidding anyone to abandon or expose a child under the age of ten "so that its life is or is likely to be endangered or its health is or is likely to be permanently injured." Under Canadian law, having been born alive, Ximenia was a living human being entitled to full protection under the law. Prolife activists hold that charges of attempted murder might be more appropriate, since nurse Wood's intent in putting the child in the bedpan aside in a room for dead fetuses was to allow the baby to die and be sent to the pathology lab with the other results of recent abortions.
Ximena's adoptive mother, Margaret, says, "How can you ever bring justice when all the damage is done? I guess my big hope that what happened to Ximena won't be in vain. It could be you in the hospital and what if they feel that you're not worthy of life. We have to stop somewhere."
And it must be a sad overtone to every birthday Ximena's family celebrates, to realize that they're also celebrating the day she was stuck in a bedpan and left to die.
A nurse, Vera Wood, did not call a resuscitation team or an infant transport team to take the shivering, whimpering, gasping infant to Children's hospital. Instead, according to court records, "She took the baby into the service room where dead fetuses are stored, and left it there [in a bedpan] for 40 minutes."
Thomas Berger, an attorney representing the child and her adoptive family noted, "We could prove that Vera Wood and other nurses did nothing to suction the baby or to provide warmth or oxygen for the child. Our case was that the baby suffered severe [trauma] as a result of these acts or omissions by VGH and its employees, resulting in brain damage in the form of mental retardation and cerebral palsy." After 40 minutes, nurse Wood called the night nursing supervisor, Joyce Hatherall, who cleared the baby's air passages, provided warmth and called for oxygen.
Mr. Berger also said, "We also had evidence that Dr. Jaroudi, called up to the ward, realized the baby had been delivered by Nadine Bourne, and realized it was viable, but nevertheless told the nurses not to resuscitate the baby ('...let it go')." Which, while not exactly rushing to the child's aid, was an improvement over what William Waddill did while nurses were attempting to resuscitate Baby W. in a California hospital. Jaroudi's attempt to complete the abortion was limited to an order to let the baby die, an order Joyce Hatherall ignored.
But even after Hatherall's intervention, the baby was placed on a metal counter, where she likely suffered further hypothermia. And when Jaroudi finally contacted the transport team for Children's Hospital, he gave them insufficient information, causing an additional half-hour delay in providing care to the baby.
That neglected baby, left to die, has since been adopted. And she has a name: Ximena Renearts. But thanks to the attempts on her life both before and after her birth, she suffered permanent brain damage. She is quadriplegic and has the mental capacity of a three-year-old.BC police made two abortive (how appropriate!) investigations of the case, with spokesman Sergeant Bob Cooper calling the case "bullshit", comparing it to cases where children die when being delivered by midwives. Which leaves me wondering if BC midwives routinely leave premature infants in metal bedpans in the closet for over half an hour at a time before somebody else comes along and provides care over the midwives' objections.
Part of the reason for the callous attitude of the police may be that the spokesman for the BC Minister of Health's Office, Michelle Stewart, is dismissive of the issue of infants born live during abortions, commenting, "As you know, this Ministry is very much in favor of giving women choices about their reproductive health." British Columbia's Chief Coroner Larry Campbell included a letter in a report on such live births, and dismissed them as to be expected in abortion and therefore outside the purview of BC coroners, who only get involved if a death is "unexpected". In other words, at least in British Columbia, abortion is 100% about achieving the death of the infant, even if the infant is born alive. Which leaves me to wonder if a perpetrator who shot Ximena dead tomorrow would face charges at all. Is she still, legally, only an aborted fetus?
The family filed suit against the hospital, the doctor, and the nurse, settling out of court for over $8 million, which will be used to build an accessible house for Ximena and to provide her with the care she will need for the rest of her life.
The hospital never conducted an internal review of how a live-born infant was treated like a pathology specimen on their premises, in violation of the law forbidding anyone to abandon or expose a child under the age of ten "so that its life is or is likely to be endangered or its health is or is likely to be permanently injured." Under Canadian law, having been born alive, Ximenia was a living human being entitled to full protection under the law. Prolife activists hold that charges of attempted murder might be more appropriate, since nurse Wood's intent in putting the child in the bedpan aside in a room for dead fetuses was to allow the baby to die and be sent to the pathology lab with the other results of recent abortions.
Ximena's adoptive mother, Margaret, says, "How can you ever bring justice when all the damage is done? I guess my big hope that what happened to Ximena won't be in vain. It could be you in the hospital and what if they feel that you're not worthy of life. We have to stop somewhere."
And it must be a sad overtone to every birthday Ximena's family celebrates, to realize that they're also celebrating the day she was stuck in a bedpan and left to die.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
The latest PP undercover video catches a "counselor" in some spectacular lies
Planned Parenthood caught in the act again by undercover videographers.
First, familiarize yourself with what these people at Planned Parenthood are talking about. Go to a neutral source. I'll provide what The Visible Embryo has to say. I have italicized some facts for emphasis:
Now that you have a clear picture of what is being discussed, listen to what the supposedly neutral, fact-based "counseling" at Planned Parenthood tells the patient:
Let's analyze what these "experts" are telling the patient.
The PP "counselor" indicates that the "pregnancy" -- which would include the placenta and amniotic sac -- is "about as wide as my fingernail." According to The Visible Embryo, a 10 week fetus (which is a fetus that is actually 8 weeks old, since gestational age is counted from the woman's last period and thus includes two weeks prior to conception) is about 1.5 inches long. And that's not including the amniotic sac and placenta -- the entire pregnancy. How big are these women's hands, that she could accurately describe a fetus that's an inch and a half long as "as wide as my fingernail"?
The patient asks if her fetus has a heart beat. The PP "counselor" ignores reality. Again, let's turn to The Visible Embryo, where we're told that at about 8 weeks gestation (6 weeks post conception), "The critical period of heart development ends." We're dealing here with a formed and functioning heart that will mature, but is structurally complete. The four chambers of the heart were formed at six weeks gestation (4 weeks after conception). The heart valves have been forming since 25 days gestational age. The heart has been pulsating for several days now. A 10 week fetus has a functioning, beating heart. What this "counselor" means by "heart tones" is a mystery. And to claim that there's no heart beat isn't present until 17 or 18 weeks is a bald faced lie. As is her claim that the fetus doesn't become "active in the uterus" until 17 or 18 weeks. Shall we check what Boston University has to say about Fetal Activity:
This site for expectant mothers notes that at 9 weeks the fetus is actively swimming around in the uterus -- fully 8 weeks before this Planned Parenthood "counselor" tells the patient that a fetus "becomes active in the uterus".
The "counselor" then goes on to talk about the ability to survive outside the womb -- which is not what the patient asked. She didn't ask if her baby could survive if it were born at that moment. She asked if her baby's heart was beating. The "counselor" tries to deflect the patient's interest from what matters to her -- Is the heart beating? -- to what she hopes will convince the patient that the unborn entity is too unsophisticated to be worth her concern.
The patient asks for a consult with the doctor. He tries to push for the exam first -- to overcome the inertia that has this patient balking, to get her past her questions. The further you are along in a process, the less willing you are to put on the brakes. And this guy is trying to keep this patient from thinking about what she's about to undergo. If they were interested in giving this patient the information she needed to make her choice before proceeding with the abortion, why would they push for going straight into the exam? After all, if she opts not to abort, the exam isn't necessary. She'd be referred for prenatal care.
Then, he launches into this:
"It's not a baby at this stage, or anything like that."
Well, we can debate the "baby" part, I suppose. If it's wanted, we refer to it as a baby all the time. Nobody asks a happily pregnant woman if she's heard the "fetal heart tones". No happily pregnant woman shows off ultrasounds and says, "I got a picture of my fetus!" But I'm not debating the semantics of using the word "baby" to describe the entity in the womb of a woman who isn't delighted to be pregnant. I want to focus on the "or anything like that." You'd have to be a bit clueless to even try to argue that what's in the womb at 10 weeks (the stage of pregnancy being discussed" is not anything like a baby. It's clearly very much like a baby. It looks very much like a baby. It behaves very much like a baby. Show a five-year-old a picture of a 10-week fetus and he'll say "Baby!" So what this PP doctor was talking about was something that was, if not technically a baby, was nevertheless enough like a baby that it's a deliberate lie. It's an attempt to get her past her uneasiness with destroying the fetus in question.
Notice also that the "counselor" told the patient that the fetus isn't a "baby" until birth. The doctor is telling her it's a "baby" at 6 or 7 months. Hm. Could it be that there's some fuzziness in the concept of "baby" behind the doors of Planned Parenthood?
You can see how clearly he's trying to talk her into aborting right away rather than to take more time to think about it. He seems especially eager to have her abort before their facility's 13-week cut-off!
We'll give him a pass on the spurious claim that abortion at 10 weeks is "safer than having a baby" -- that claim has so much credence in abortion advocacy circles that you can't blame him for lying. He's passing along a lie he's been taught. The truth is that we don't have enough evidence to make comparisons of the safety of aborting a baby versus giving birth to it. Then he tries to go into scaring her. "Women die having babies!" He assures her none of his abortion patients have died.
What we're seeing in this video is two professional abortion salespeople pushing a customer to buy their product despite very clear evidence that she's uncertain that this is what she wants.
First, familiarize yourself with what these people at Planned Parenthood are talking about. Go to a neutral source. I'll provide what The Visible Embryo has to say. I have italicized some facts for emphasis:
Head and Neck
Basic brain structure of the fetus is complete and now the brain mass rapidly increases. Sockets for all twenty teeth are formed in the gum lines. Face has human appearance - one example is the nasolacrimal grooveforming on the upper lip. Separate folds of the mouth fuse together forming the palate. Early facial hair follicles begin to develop.
Thorax
Vocal cords form in larynx and fetus can make sounds.
Abdomen
Intestines have migrated into abdomen from the umbilical cord. Digestive tract muscles are functional and practice contraction. Nutrient-extracting villi line the now folded intestines. The liver starts to secrete bile, a thick, brown-green liquid containing bile salts, bile pigments, cholesterol and inorganic salts. The bile is stored in the gall bladder. Development of thyroid and pancreas are complete. Pancreas starts to produce insulin.
Pelvis
Genitalia begin to show female characteristics (labium minus, urogenital groove, labium majoris) and male characteristics (glans penis, urethral groove, scrotum). Neither male nor female genitalia are fully formed.
Limbs
Fingernails begin to grow from nail beds.
Skin
Fetus develops reflexes and the skin is very sensitive.
Now that you have a clear picture of what is being discussed, listen to what the supposedly neutral, fact-based "counseling" at Planned Parenthood tells the patient:
Let's analyze what these "experts" are telling the patient.
The PP "counselor" indicates that the "pregnancy" -- which would include the placenta and amniotic sac -- is "about as wide as my fingernail." According to The Visible Embryo, a 10 week fetus (which is a fetus that is actually 8 weeks old, since gestational age is counted from the woman's last period and thus includes two weeks prior to conception) is about 1.5 inches long. And that's not including the amniotic sac and placenta -- the entire pregnancy. How big are these women's hands, that she could accurately describe a fetus that's an inch and a half long as "as wide as my fingernail"?
The patient asks if her fetus has a heart beat. The PP "counselor" ignores reality. Again, let's turn to The Visible Embryo, where we're told that at about 8 weeks gestation (6 weeks post conception), "The critical period of heart development ends." We're dealing here with a formed and functioning heart that will mature, but is structurally complete. The four chambers of the heart were formed at six weeks gestation (4 weeks after conception). The heart valves have been forming since 25 days gestational age. The heart has been pulsating for several days now. A 10 week fetus has a functioning, beating heart. What this "counselor" means by "heart tones" is a mystery. And to claim that there's no heart beat isn't present until 17 or 18 weeks is a bald faced lie. As is her claim that the fetus doesn't become "active in the uterus" until 17 or 18 weeks. Shall we check what Boston University has to say about Fetal Activity:
The first spontaneous FM has been found to occur between 7 and 8.5 weeks gestation, providing concrete evidence that FM emerges not at quickening, or the time at which the mother first feels FM, but much earlier in gestation. These early movements also show that the behavioral repertoire of the fetus is not solely reflexive in nature because these observed movements (e.g., yawning, stretching, limb movements, etc.) are spontaneous and not elicited. In addition, very early fetal movements are not random, but show systematic organization in that distinct types of movements are regularly observed. This organization of behavior implies that these fetal movements are a directly observable manifestation of central nervous system development.
This site for expectant mothers notes that at 9 weeks the fetus is actively swimming around in the uterus -- fully 8 weeks before this Planned Parenthood "counselor" tells the patient that a fetus "becomes active in the uterus".
The "counselor" then goes on to talk about the ability to survive outside the womb -- which is not what the patient asked. She didn't ask if her baby could survive if it were born at that moment. She asked if her baby's heart was beating. The "counselor" tries to deflect the patient's interest from what matters to her -- Is the heart beating? -- to what she hopes will convince the patient that the unborn entity is too unsophisticated to be worth her concern.
The patient asks for a consult with the doctor. He tries to push for the exam first -- to overcome the inertia that has this patient balking, to get her past her questions. The further you are along in a process, the less willing you are to put on the brakes. And this guy is trying to keep this patient from thinking about what she's about to undergo. If they were interested in giving this patient the information she needed to make her choice before proceeding with the abortion, why would they push for going straight into the exam? After all, if she opts not to abort, the exam isn't necessary. She'd be referred for prenatal care.
Then, he launches into this:
"It's not a baby at this stage, or anything like that."
Well, we can debate the "baby" part, I suppose. If it's wanted, we refer to it as a baby all the time. Nobody asks a happily pregnant woman if she's heard the "fetal heart tones". No happily pregnant woman shows off ultrasounds and says, "I got a picture of my fetus!" But I'm not debating the semantics of using the word "baby" to describe the entity in the womb of a woman who isn't delighted to be pregnant. I want to focus on the "or anything like that." You'd have to be a bit clueless to even try to argue that what's in the womb at 10 weeks (the stage of pregnancy being discussed" is not anything like a baby. It's clearly very much like a baby. It looks very much like a baby. It behaves very much like a baby. Show a five-year-old a picture of a 10-week fetus and he'll say "Baby!" So what this PP doctor was talking about was something that was, if not technically a baby, was nevertheless enough like a baby that it's a deliberate lie. It's an attempt to get her past her uneasiness with destroying the fetus in question.
Notice also that the "counselor" told the patient that the fetus isn't a "baby" until birth. The doctor is telling her it's a "baby" at 6 or 7 months. Hm. Could it be that there's some fuzziness in the concept of "baby" behind the doors of Planned Parenthood?
You can see how clearly he's trying to talk her into aborting right away rather than to take more time to think about it. He seems especially eager to have her abort before their facility's 13-week cut-off!
We'll give him a pass on the spurious claim that abortion at 10 weeks is "safer than having a baby" -- that claim has so much credence in abortion advocacy circles that you can't blame him for lying. He's passing along a lie he's been taught. The truth is that we don't have enough evidence to make comparisons of the safety of aborting a baby versus giving birth to it. Then he tries to go into scaring her. "Women die having babies!" He assures her none of his abortion patients have died.
What we're seeing in this video is two professional abortion salespeople pushing a customer to buy their product despite very clear evidence that she's uncertain that this is what she wants.
New abortion movie: Will it make a difference?
HT: Suzy B:
Los Angeles Time’s Robin Abcarian reported last week on recent test screenings for an upcoming film, South Dakota: A Woman’s Right to Choose. Set in South Dakota and Philadelphia, the film—a “dramumentary”—follows the true stories of two teenage girls faced with unplanned pregnancies. The filmmaker, Bruce Isacson, integrates the dramaticized tales with interviews from scientists, thinkers, and activists from both sides of the debate.
Gotta tell you, there's a point of view being presented, and it's pretty clear in the film's website -- "As the stories unfold on the screen under Isacson’s direction of a talented cast, he simultaneously creates a fascinating mosaic of contradictory truths about the complex issues related to a woman’s right to choose."
Anybody who frames abortion as being about "a woman's right to choose" has made it pretty plain which side he comes down on, just as anybody who speaks of "Second Amendment rights" isn't going to be backing much gun control legislation. For those who oppose abortion, it's not about anybody's right -- it's about responsibility, and about basic human decency being extended to the youngest and most vulnerable among us.
This isn't to say that the film won't present things reasonably fairly. Which, of course, means that abortion advocates will be having apoplectic fits. To even concede that there is an organism whose fate is being decided is anathema to them.
I have cause for hope regarding this film: The Filmmaker's Statement says, "During production I realized how little I knew about this volatile issue. After filming many interviews I concluded that most of the public were as uneducated as I was on this subject." Amen to that.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Excellent psuedoscience quiz from FunTrivia!
Can you identify the various traits of psuedoscience? Take the quiz and tell us your score! I aced it. Go me!
Monday, December 07, 2009
Disagree with libs, get a price put on your head
Liberal Group Puts Bounty on Head of Chamber of Commerce CEO
The message is clear: "Oppose us and we will stop at nothing to utterly destroy you."
Not that they have a tyrannical bent or anything.
Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue is a wanted man -- at least according to the liberal activist group that's put a de facto bounty on his head.
A network of liberal groups known as Velvet Revolution started an ad campaign offering $200,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the man whose trade organization has become a thorn in the side of the Obama administration and congressional Democrats.
The group is not leveling any specific charges of criminal behavior. Rather, it is casting a wide net, fishing for any whistleblowers from Donohue's past who might come forward with allegations of wrongdoing. The campaign against the Chamber was launched in response to the group's opposition to climate change legislation and health care reform, and its plan to spend $100 million lobbying against these and other initiatives.
The message is clear: "Oppose us and we will stop at nothing to utterly destroy you."
Not that they have a tyrannical bent or anything.
Sunday, December 06, 2009
1988: Teen bleeds to death after abortion
Life Dynamics lists 16-year-old Katrina Poole on their "Blackmun Wall" of women killed by safe, legal abortions. LDI notes that Katrina's abortion was performed the afternoon of December 5, 1988, in a doctor's office in Jacksonville, Florida. She suffered a perforated cervix and uterus. She died of hemorrhage the following day.
For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:
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For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:
To email this post to a friend, use the icon below.
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Join with Xerox to say Thanks to our troops
Let's Say Thanks will print out your choice of cards, designed by schoolchildren, and send it to a servicemember.
One more example of the "Feminism" of inferiority
Obamacare: The Emergence of Victoria’s Secret Feminism:
First abortion, now cosmetic surgery, with "feminism" saying that women aren't good enough without surgical intervention. How is any of this celebrating the inherent value of women?
Yes, standing up for the rights of middle-aged women to have access to cosmetic enhancement is part of the work of contemporary feminism, [NOW president Terry] O’Neill told me this week.
First abortion, now cosmetic surgery, with "feminism" saying that women aren't good enough without surgical intervention. How is any of this celebrating the inherent value of women?
"Unlicensed abortion"?
Police: New York Woman Plotted to Kill Husband's Mistress's Unborn Child
Kisha Jones wasn't happy that her husband had gotten another woman pregnant. So, pretending to be from the woman's obstetrician's office, she phoned her to pick up a prescription at the pharmacy and take it. The lover, falling for the ruse, took the drug and went into labor two months prematurely. The baby survived but ended up in the NICU, where Jones again made an attempt on the child's life, this time sending an accomplice with tainted liquid, with instructions to tell the nurses it was breast milk for the baby.
According to Fox News, "Jones, 31, was arraigned Saturday on charges including forgery, possession of stolen property, assault and unlicensed abortion."
Unlicensed abortion. An attempt to kill a viable infant against the mother's wishes. That's what the abortion culture has brought us to -- where trying to kill a woman's loved unborn child is a petty matter of not having a license to do it.
Kisha Jones wasn't happy that her husband had gotten another woman pregnant. So, pretending to be from the woman's obstetrician's office, she phoned her to pick up a prescription at the pharmacy and take it. The lover, falling for the ruse, took the drug and went into labor two months prematurely. The baby survived but ended up in the NICU, where Jones again made an attempt on the child's life, this time sending an accomplice with tainted liquid, with instructions to tell the nurses it was breast milk for the baby.
According to Fox News, "Jones, 31, was arraigned Saturday on charges including forgery, possession of stolen property, assault and unlicensed abortion."
Unlicensed abortion. An attempt to kill a viable infant against the mother's wishes. That's what the abortion culture has brought us to -- where trying to kill a woman's loved unborn child is a petty matter of not having a license to do it.
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Remembering Suzanne Logan - A lingering death
On December 1, 1992, 35-year-old Suzanne Logan died in a Maryland nursing home. She had been there for three years, mute and paralyzed. Her only memory of how she got there was of going to Hillview abortion clinic in Maryland on September 9, 1989, for a safe, legal abortion. She had been 13 weeks into her pregnancy.
Her abortion was performed by Gideon Kioko.
There was no record of how much intravenous Brevital was administered to Suzanne, or who administered the drug. There was also no record of any examination to determine of this drug was appropriate for Suzanne.
Suzanne was already unconscious on the table when Kioko and his nurse entered the procedure room. Kioko was being assisted by an unlicensed nurse, who noted that Suzanne's lips were turning blue. She told Kioko, who continued with the abortion procedure. There is no record that anybody monitored her vital signs or administered oxygen during the procedure.
The nurse summoned Barbara Lofton, who came into the room with Dr. Raymond Taylor, a doctor Hillview used to provide aftercare. Taylor began to attend to Suzanne. Kioko's only contribution to the efforts to revive his patient was to attach an EKG line to one of her arms.
Eventually somebody summoned emergency medical services (EMS). The EMS personnel reported that the Hillview employees seemed "very confused and did not seem to know what they were doing." EMS staff also noted that Hillview staff had put an oxygen mask on Suzanne upside-down, so that she wasn't getting any oxygen.
Suzanne was cyanotic (she had turned blue from lack of oxygen), her pupils were dilated. She was limp, and had no pulse and was not breathing. EMS workers managed to perform CPR and get Suzanne's heart and lungs working again, and transported her to a hospital.
Suzanne remained comatose and was transferred to a nursing home. Four months after the abortion, she regained consciousness, but was paralyzed and unable to speak. She had no memory of the abortion, but was able to eventually recall having gone to the clinic.
Local prolifers visited Suzanne, and bought her a device that allowed her to communicate. She was interviewed by 60 Minutes, and asked what she wanted. She replied, "To go home."
Suzanne filed suit against Kioko and the clinic. In November of 1992, she finally won her suit, and was awarded $2.6 million and $10,000 a month for life, to cover her expenses. Sadly, Suzanne died on December 1, before she had a chance to fulfill her wish of seeing her father again.
Debra Gray also died after an abortion at Hillview. Hillview's owner, Barbara Lofton, had opened an abortion clinic in the District of Columbia, but had been closed down for operating without a license. So she'd moved two miles over the border into Maryland, where there were no impeding regulations keeping her from running the facility. A former employee interviewed by 60 Minutes thought that Lofton was a doctor because she dressed like a doctor, answered the phone "Dr. Lofton," and performed medical tasks.
Kioko made the following excuses to the medical board regarding the fatal abortions:
The medical board noted that Kioko, as the physician performing the procedure, was still responsible for ensuring that the patient was being provided with appropriate care, regardless of how the clinic chose to assign tasks. The board also noted that nobody was monitoring either woman's vital signs while Kioko was operating on them.
The board noted that "In the above cases, [Kioko] performed surgical procedures under conditions that failed to meet appropriate standards for the delivery of quality medical and surgical care. .... In the event that [Kioko] was unable to correct these conditions, the appropriate standard of care required that [he] not perform these procedures at this facility until these conditions were so corrected."
The board also noted that "Kioko demonstrated a serious lack of judgment.... Kioko assumed that his role was limited to performing technical procedures upon anesthetized patients, leaving overall management of the patients to others. Dr. Kioko's gullibility in this regard proved fatal."
For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:
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Her abortion was performed by Gideon Kioko.
There was no record of how much intravenous Brevital was administered to Suzanne, or who administered the drug. There was also no record of any examination to determine of this drug was appropriate for Suzanne.
Suzanne was already unconscious on the table when Kioko and his nurse entered the procedure room. Kioko was being assisted by an unlicensed nurse, who noted that Suzanne's lips were turning blue. She told Kioko, who continued with the abortion procedure. There is no record that anybody monitored her vital signs or administered oxygen during the procedure.
The nurse summoned Barbara Lofton, who came into the room with Dr. Raymond Taylor, a doctor Hillview used to provide aftercare. Taylor began to attend to Suzanne. Kioko's only contribution to the efforts to revive his patient was to attach an EKG line to one of her arms.
Eventually somebody summoned emergency medical services (EMS). The EMS personnel reported that the Hillview employees seemed "very confused and did not seem to know what they were doing." EMS staff also noted that Hillview staff had put an oxygen mask on Suzanne upside-down, so that she wasn't getting any oxygen.
Suzanne was cyanotic (she had turned blue from lack of oxygen), her pupils were dilated. She was limp, and had no pulse and was not breathing. EMS workers managed to perform CPR and get Suzanne's heart and lungs working again, and transported her to a hospital.
Suzanne remained comatose and was transferred to a nursing home. Four months after the abortion, she regained consciousness, but was paralyzed and unable to speak. She had no memory of the abortion, but was able to eventually recall having gone to the clinic.
Local prolifers visited Suzanne, and bought her a device that allowed her to communicate. She was interviewed by 60 Minutes, and asked what she wanted. She replied, "To go home."
Suzanne filed suit against Kioko and the clinic. In November of 1992, she finally won her suit, and was awarded $2.6 million and $10,000 a month for life, to cover her expenses. Sadly, Suzanne died on December 1, before she had a chance to fulfill her wish of seeing her father again.
Debra Gray also died after an abortion at Hillview. Hillview's owner, Barbara Lofton, had opened an abortion clinic in the District of Columbia, but had been closed down for operating without a license. So she'd moved two miles over the border into Maryland, where there were no impeding regulations keeping her from running the facility. A former employee interviewed by 60 Minutes thought that Lofton was a doctor because she dressed like a doctor, answered the phone "Dr. Lofton," and performed medical tasks.
Kioko made the following excuses to the medical board regarding the fatal abortions:
In the first two cases where Brevital was given, I did not give it, nor did I consent to it. I was not consulted or asked about it. I did not even start intravenous fluids. The decision to administer Brevital was made by the patient and the clinic, and during those [sic] time, I would be called in. I would be notified that "the patient is now asleep, Doctor. You may start the procedure." ....
I, therefore, had nothing to do with the Brevital administered to these two patients. Other contract physicians were also working under similar terms, and, like me, they had nothing to do with the administration of Brevital. I suppose that I was just unlucky at that time and happened to be there when this incident happened.
....
[Regarding Debra Gray]. I understand that [the Brevital] was given by Dr. Barbara Lofton-Clinical Practitioner. My initial contact with the patient was the initial sizing evaulation and to determine the gestational age of the pregnancy. The next contact by me was when the patient was already asleep. As I was finishing the procedure, I called the attention to the administers [sic] of the anesthetic, that the patient's blood was getting unusually dark. At that time, in my view, adequate resuscitation efforts was [sic] immediately instituted with airway established and 911 was called. EKG and oxygen were available and were used. Dr. Taylor, a Cardiology fellow headed the resuscitation effort. It is just not true that adequate resuscitation was not done and that the equipment was not available. Indicenttally, this patient had recently used Opium [sic], though the patient had denied this in her medical history.
The case of [Suzanne Logan] is similar. The patient was put to sleep, with Brevital. I was not in the Operating Room at the time. Once again I was called in to do the procedure once the patient was deemed asleep. I was not consulted, nor did I participate in the decision to give the agent, but once again, I know there was immediate and adequate resuscitation effort. (Please refer to the letter from Dr. [sic] Barbara Lofton). The only case I directly had complete responsibility for is that of ... [Patient C].
The medical board noted that Kioko, as the physician performing the procedure, was still responsible for ensuring that the patient was being provided with appropriate care, regardless of how the clinic chose to assign tasks. The board also noted that nobody was monitoring either woman's vital signs while Kioko was operating on them.
The board noted that "In the above cases, [Kioko] performed surgical procedures under conditions that failed to meet appropriate standards for the delivery of quality medical and surgical care. .... In the event that [Kioko] was unable to correct these conditions, the appropriate standard of care required that [he] not perform these procedures at this facility until these conditions were so corrected."
The board also noted that "Kioko demonstrated a serious lack of judgment.... Kioko assumed that his role was limited to performing technical procedures upon anesthetized patients, leaving overall management of the patients to others. Dr. Kioko's gullibility in this regard proved fatal."
For more abortion deaths, visit the Cemetery of Choice:
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1928: Fatal abortion in Chicago
On December 1, 1928, 23-year-old Esther V. Wahlstrom died in Chicago from complications of a criminal abortion. Dr. Lou E. Davis was held by the coroner for murder by abortion on December 12. She was indicted for felony murder on December 15.
Esther's abortion was typical of illegal abortions in that it was performed by a physician.
For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion
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Esther's abortion was typical of illegal abortions in that it was performed by a physician.
For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion
To email this post to a friend, use the icon below.