Prostaglandin abortion, lived 20 days: Dr. Jesse Floyd was indicted on charges of illegal abortion and murder in the death of a 2 lb 5 oz infant boy of approximately 27-28 weeks gestation who survived 20 days following a third-trimester abortion performed in Richland Memorial Hospital, South Carolina in September of 1974. The state dropped the charges due to reluctance of the infant's mother to testify and Floyd challenging the constitutionality of the abortion law. Floyd said that he had no reason to believe that the fetus was over 20 weeks gestation, but also said he selected prostaglandin to induce the abortion in an effort not to harm the fetus -- an odd assertion, since he'd been paid to kill the baby in question.
Saline abortion, baby left severely disabled: Ruth Ann S. was sent to Detroit Memorial for an abortion performed October 3, 1984 by Dr. Enrique Gerbi. There, saline was injected to kill the fetus. At 12:30 AM on October 4, Ruth Ann delivered a live infant girl, that she named Vanessa. The hospital did not have a NICU, and did not transfer Vanessa to another hospital for NICU care. Little Vanessa was "left to languish without the care of an obstetrician and/or a pediatrician." Vanessa suffered brain damage, required heart surgery due to saline damage, and required surgery "to relieve hydrocephalic conditions produced by the result of the salt injection." The baby suffered blindness, mental retardation, severe scarring and burning of her feet, growth retardation, and "Lack of coordination, ambulation and other dysfunctions not yet manifest." The suit also charged Jack Ryan, President/Chief Medical Officer, with failing to "require the checking of the eleven malpractice suits in claims filed against [Gerbi]I," and with failing to require Gerbi "to present evidence of knowledge and skill" for performing abortions. The suit also faulted the hospital with failing "to require that physical evaluations would be made on patients to determine the gestational age of the fetus before an effort was made to kill the same by abortion techniques," failing to have arrangements for care of live-born infants after abortion, and failure to have Gerbi placed under adequate supervision. (Wayne County Circuit Court Case No. 85-529757)
D&X or "Partial Birth Abortion," two infants, death due to prematurity: Dr. Martin Haskell is a National Abortion Federation member who provided training on D&X abortions (aka Partial Birth Abortion), performed 20 weeks and beyond, in which live fetus is extracted feet first but the brain is suctioned out just before the head emerges. (Nurse Brenda Pratt Shaffer describes the procedure here.) An Associated Press article dated December 11, 1989, says that a witness who allegedly observed 17 other procedures told police one infant girl of 21 or 22 weeks gestation had emerged alive before the procedure had been completed, and survived approximately 20 minutes, on September 21, 1989. The police did not prosecute because it was the student observer's word against Haskell's. Haskell claimed that her complaint was a personal attack because he does abortions, but the student said, "I don't want this to sound like I'm a freak antiabortionist. I don't want to sound like a radical," and noted that she had gotten permission to observe abortions because she would like to be nurse or doctor specializing in abortions. Another of Haskell's patients went to a hospital between phases of one of his D&X procedures, where she gave birth to a premature infant who later died.
For more information, see:
More Born Alive Babies and Their Fates
Obama, Babies, and the Benefit of the Doubt
Obama and the Born Alive Babies
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