A nurse at a Phoenix, Arizona abortion clinic said she watched a baby who was born alive after an abortion move around and struggle to breathe before it died, according to an investigation of the case.
In February, Pro-life Arizona reported learning that a city fire department transported a baby from the Family Planning Associates abortion clinic on North 7th Street to the Banner University Medical Center.
“The baby was reported to be 21 weeks along (gestation) to the termination clinic, but when they removed the baby from the mother’s womb, the ‘fetus’ was breathing. A 9-1-1 call was made from clinic staff, firefighters responded and worked … to save the babies life,” according to the group’s Facebook page.
New details from an investigation of the incident confirm the baby was about 21 weeks, and a nurse at the abortion clinic says she saw the baby move more than 10 minutes after it was born, according to KPNX 12 News. When the nurse took the baby to weigh it on a scale, she said she saw it move and struggle to breath, according to the report. “Oh my God this fetus is moving,” she said, according to police.
Police speculated that the baby possibly moved because it felt the cold metal of the scale. However, the abortionist, Eleanor Stanely, appears to have believed the baby was already dead. She told police that she did not detect a heartbeat while the baby was in the womb.
Here is more from The Arizona Republic:
Personnel with the Phoenix Fire Department corroborated the statement, telling investigators the fetus had no heart tones or breathing as it was transported to the hospital, records said.
Investigators wrote that the on-scene medic described the fetus as “purple in color, not breathing or moving, and described the infant as not appearing viable and feeling cold through the latex gloves he wore during treatment.”
Arizona law allows abortions to be performed before a fetus would be able to survive on its own outside the womb, generally considered to be about 22-24 weeks into pregnancy.
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The 27-year-old patient has had five children. She told authorities she first visited the office Feb. 24 for a preliminary appointment in which she completed paperwork and was advised about procedures. During the course of an ultrasound, the patient was informed by the doctor the fetus had a heartbeat.
She was given medication the next day to induce miscarriage [abortion]. Stanley told investigators the fetal heartbeat had stopped at some point before the procedure, and there was no fetal heartbeat immediately before the operation, she said.
The operation proceeded on Feb. 26 and Stanley reiterated the fetus showed no signs of life. She attributed the incident to potential “residual movement of the chest and heart tone.”
She told investigators she had to call 911 after the staff member said, “Oh my God, this fetus is moving.”
The reports do not indicate whether the baby was a boy or a girl.
Police closed the investigation without filing any charges, saying the baby was not viable and the abortion clinic followed proper procedures, the report states. Arizona law requires abortion facilities to provide medical care and treatment to infants born alive at any stage of development. Authorities did not perform an autopsy because the baby’s death was due to known circumstances, according to the report.
After learning of the incident in February, pro-lifers organized a prayer vigil for the baby outside the hospital, LifeNews reported. They named the baby Chava, which is Hebrew for “life.”
Though abortion advocates deny that babies survive abortions, LifeNews has documented dozens of cases of babies who were miraculously born alive after failed abortion attempts. Abortion survivors Melissa Ohden, Gianna Jessen and Claire Culwell are just a few examples. The three women are strong pro-life advocates who speak across the country about how their lives are valuable, even though they almost were killed in the womb by abortionists.
The federal government also confirms a number of babies survive failed abortions. In 2011, the CDC recorded 1,298 cases of infant death in the U.S. due to “Other perinatal conditions,” which includes ICD-10 category P96.4, death subsequent to a failed “termination of pregnancy.”
However, the abortion industry continues to fight against a federal bill, the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act, that would ensure babies who survive abortions receive equal protection under the law.
