Unforgettable Looks of an Abortion, How Seeing the Procedure Changes Minds

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Apr 24, 2008   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Unforgettable Looks of an Abortion, How Seeing the Procedure Changes Minds

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by Kevin Roeten
April 24, 2008

LifeNews.com Note: Roeten is a very conservative Catholic who likes the facts over readily displayed emotions. He is an editorial columnist who has frequently been published in numerous Internet and newspaper forums.

The act of aborting an individual is usually hidden in some Planned Parenthood office. A few doctors have physically seen the procedure done. A few others have seen the killings after the whole baby has left the uterus. Some truly grisly sights have been discovered in waste dumpsters. Not many of us really know exactly what goes on behind those closed doors. We therefore need to prepare.

Father Frank Pavone (Priests for Life) has posted two videos to YouTube and that explains exactly what happens during an abortion. It’s very convenient that the mother never sees the actual abortion. The abortionist many times has an ultrasound picture of the procedure and watches it take place, but never allows the mother to see it. Most times, the abortionist has to ‘feel’ his way around the uterus without sight as to where the baby is.

Most abortions fall into either of two categories: a Suction Curetage usually done during the 1st semester, and a D&E (Dilation and Extraction), during the 2nd semester. With the Suction Curetage, a cannula (hollow tube) is used by the abortionist who runs a vacuum pump attached to it. The baby is continually prodded until it breaks into small enough pieces to be sucked through the cannula.

After the abortionist believes he has sucked all the parts of the baby out of the uterus, a sharp curette is pushed into the uterus to scrape away any parts of the procedure that are left. If the baby is small enough, she/he goes though the tube intact.

For the D&E, the “E” stands for extraction. And because the baby is much larger, it has to be extracted in parts. Forceps are used to grab anything it can grip–probably any extremities of the child first. Usually the abortionist cannot see what he’s grabbing. Without direct sight, the extremities are physically separated (ripped) from the body.

Next is the head, which is the largest part. To be able to fit through the mother, the head is usually perforated and its contents emptied. It is usually crushed if big enough. Typically it is brought out in fragments. How do you perforate something you can’t directly see?

There are “Yellow Page” ads for abortions of babies 26 and 28 weeks old. D&E abortions have been performed on babies 32 weeks and older. Per Father Pavone, “If we’re going to talk about abortion in this country, let’s make sure we know what we’re talking about…”.

An abortionist, Dr. Martin Haskell, says he knows the fetus is still alive because he feels it move and actually sees the heart beating before the procedure. But people will say this is not a life and is a mere blob of tissue. It seems highly likely that some or all of the babies feel pain from this type of abortion.

Do we ever put dogs or other animals though this kind of procedure? And we complain that waterboarding of terrorists is torture when it actually involves no physical pain? It’s likely we can witness pain firsthand by viewing the videotape of an ultrasound of an abortion. But it seems unlikely to ever get one from an abortion clinic.

Probably anyone who watches such a procedure would never be pro-choice again. Likely, if mothers were shown the tape of their own abortion, they would never get another one. It is probable abortionists like Planned Parenthood may see major monetary losses if such a video ever was shown. If anyone insists abortion should always be a choice, all one has to do is ask them if they’ve ever actually seen one.

Such a video will get out, sooner or later. And it could be said with tongue-in-cheek there likely will be h-ll to pay.