http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=52059
DOJ: Betraying aborted-alive babies?
Jill Stanek
Posted: September 20, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern
In April 2004, a nurse named Abby* made an appointment with Richard
Collier of the Legal Center for Defense to tell him of an incident she
thought violated the Born Alive Infants Protection Act.
Abby worked in the labor and delivery department of a major regional
hospital in New Jersey. Abby told Collier about a baby boy who was
aborted alive there earlier that year and placed in the "dirty room"
until he died several hours later.
The attending nurse was so disturbed she described the event to Abby.
The boy was between 20-23 weeks old and aborted after a doctor noticed
on ultrasound his limbs were not measuring properly. He told the mother
the baby would be born with abnormal arms and legs and sword-like feet.
The procedure of choice was induced labor abortion, wherein a pill
called Misoprostol (aka Cytotec) is inserted in the mother's birth
canal every 4-8 hours to irritate the cervix until it opens.
The abortionist may kill the baby beforehand by injecting a
heart-stopping drug into the baby's heart through the mother's abdomen.
Or the abortionist may not, anticipating the baby will die during the
birth process or soon after.
In this case, the baby obviously was not killed en utero and survived.
The nurse wrapped the baby in a blanket and took him to the dirty room,
realizing after several minutes he was alive. She reported this to her
charge nurse, who did nothing. The family was not told.
The nurse noticed the baby was clutching something in one fist. She
pried the baby's fingers opened and saw he was grasping a Cytotec pill.
The nurse requested a reassignment.
Still, she felt compelled to check on the baby four or five hours
later. Thinking the blanket was keeping him alive, she unwrapped the
baby and placed him naked on a stainless steel table.
When she checked 15 minutes later, he was dead.
Collier reported the incident to the U. S. Department of Justice. The
DOJ and the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services are charged
with enforcing the Born Alive Infants Protection Act, signed into law
by President Bush in 2002.
Abby began reporting other incidents to Collier, who reported them to
the DOJ.
Abby said doctors were ordering nurses to chart live aborted babies'
APGAR scores as "zero-zero," indicating they were born dead, not alive.
Once, for instance, when Abby was told a live aborted 21-week-old girl
had been shelved to die in the dirty room, she went to rock her. (Abby,
being pro-life, never participated in these abortions.) This aggravated
the attending physician, who reminded Abby to score her at zero-zero.
Abby refused. The abortionist found someone else.
Abby reported to Collier that hospital personnel falsely told the DOJ
no babies survived induced labor abortions - statistically impossible
if babies aren't killed before the procedure is started.
Thus, the hospital not only falsified legal documents, it lied outright
to the DOJ.
This hospital is a Level III mother-baby care facility. It has
equipment and personnel to care for the sickest, youngest babies born.
Abby reported that when the neonatal team was called for the delivery
of a wanted preterm baby, it came running. But it did not come running
for the delivery of an aborted preterm baby. During confusing times,
when the team did not know the preemie was aborted, it would come
running but be turned back.
Of course, all these actions violated the Born Alive Infants Protection
Act, which indicates all live born babies, no matter what gestational
age or reason for birth, are legally protected and, therefore,
deserving of equal medical treatment.
In July 2005, a year after the DOJ began to investigate, the hospital
instituted a new abortion policy. Live aborted babies were no longer to
go to the dirty room; they were to go to a hospital room within the
department for comfort care.
This still violated the principles established in BAIPA.
Almost two years after the DOJ began to investigate, this past
Christmas, Abby reported the good news that amazed staff finally
provided treatment to an aborted healthy baby girl who lived six hours
on comfort care alone. She thrived and ultimately went home.
It has now been two and a half years, and the DOJ has not intervened to
stop that New Jersey hospital.
I pondered with Collier the other day just how many hospitals are
committing induced labor abortion. He said the easier question would be
how many hospitals are not committing it.
To date, no U. S. hospital or abortion mill has been prosecuted for
giving disparate treatment to live aborted babies versus wanted babies.
* pseudonym
If you think your child may have been aborted alive, you should know
hospital records can be obtained. You should also know crisis
intervention is available for post-traumatic stress. Call Save One at
866-329-3571, Rachel's Vineyard at 877-HOPE 4 ME or Priests for Life at
888-PFL-3448.
Jill Stanek fought to stop "live-birth abortion" after witnessing one
as a registered nurse at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Ill. In 2002,
President Bush asked Jill to attend his signing of the Born Alive
Infants Protection Act. In January 2003, World Magazine named Jill one
of the 30 most prominent pro-life leaders of the past 30 years. To
learn more, visit Jill's blog, Pro-life Pulse.
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