Ron Paul Recalls Witnessing an Abortion in New Pro-Life Video

Politics   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Oct 14, 2011   |   12:25PM   |  

The campaign of Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul unveiled a new video ad today as part of its ongoing weeks-long, million-plus dollar ad buy to get the Texas congressman the GOP nomination.

The ad features Dr. Paul’s recollection of his early years as a physician, where he recounts a time when he witnessed the tragic irony surrounding urgent medical care provided, and denied, to a wanted baby delivered prematurely and an unwanted baby that survived a late-term abortion. Paul is by trade an OB-GYN who personally delivered more than 4,000 babies.

“Dr. Ron Paul, more than 4,000 babies delivered,” the announcer says in the ad. “A man of faith, committed to protecting life.”

Paul himself is interviewed in the commercial, saying, “This whole notion of life not being valuable just is something I was never able to accept.”

The doctor recalls a time when he witnessed an abortion: “I happened to have walked into an operating room where they were doing an abortion on a late pregnancy. They lifted out a small baby that was able to cry and breathe and they put it in a bucket and put it in the corner of the room. and pretended it wasn’t there. I walked down the hallway and a baby was born early — slightly bigger than the baby they put in the bucket and they wanted to save this baby. So they might have had 10 doctors in there doing everything conceivable [to save that baby’s life].”

“Who are we to decide that we pick and throw one away and pick up and struggle to save the other ones,” Paul continues. “Unless we resolve this and understand that life is precious and we must protect life, we can’t protect liberty.”

The ad is already getting strong reviews from conservative activists, with Tina Korbe of Hot Air writing that it “doesn’t feel like a campaign spot. It comes across instead as a public service announcement — and an utterly important one.”

“Paul comes across as so poignantly sincere when he speaks on the subject of life that it’s hard for me to believe this video is just a ploy for votes. Frankly, I wish more campaign ads were like this one — quiet encapsulations of important convictions,” she writes. “Paul told the anecdote about the baby in the bucket at the Ames straw poll and it was powerful then. I’m happy a few thousand dollars and airings in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada mean more people across the country will hear it, too.”