Nurse Jill Stanek became a nationally-known figure after she testified to Congress about finding a baby who was born alive after a botched abortion and left to die at a Chicago-area hospital.
Stanek’s experience shocked and horrified millions of people, and her testimony helped to pass the Born Alive Infants Protection Act under President George W. Bush.
Stanek quickly learned that her experience was not unique.
Live Action News reports how another nurse also tried to save a baby who survived a botched abortion at a hospital in southern California. The nurse told Stanek:
I, too, witnessed a similar incident during one very long night shift in the emergency room. We were summoned to get a ‘pregnant woman in distress’ out of her car. The first to arrive was a paramedic, who reported hearing a little cry as she approached.
She tried to give the baby rescue breaths, but a new infant can’t tolerate more than a couple minutes without oxygen before permanent brain damage occurs, as you know. By the time we got the infant inside, she was already cyanotic [blue] and, with the parents’ urging, the ER doc pronounced her [dead] almost immediately.
The mother was bleeding heavily, the nurse said. As the staff treated her, they also tried to comfort her, thinking she was in distress because she lost her baby; but they noticed that the mother’s attitude was cold, the nurse said. Then they realized that they were dealing with a botched abortion case, the nurse said.
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“When the mom’s ‘primary physician’ arrived on scene, we all realized what was going on – that it was, in fact, an abortion,” the nurse said. “This was a perfectly formed 26-week baby. Someone laid her on a table. As soon as I saw her I nearly fell apart. The image of that beautiful, fully formed, perfect little infant haunts me to this day. I’ve seen it in my sleep. I’ve seen it every time I see a pregnant woman.”
These cases continue to occur, despite abortion activists like Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards claiming that they have never heard of babies surviving abortions.
Stanek reported the California nurse’s story in 2004, but LifeNews has reported more recent cases, some as late as this year. In February, a baby was born alive after a botched abortion at a late-term abortion facility in Phoenix, Arizona. The baby later died at the hospital.
A 911 audio file, obtained by NBC 11 Alive, confirmed that the abortion clinic staff saw that the 21-week baby was alive and breathing before it died. Reports do not indicate whether the baby was a boy or girl.
“The fetus is breathing so we need care for it now,” the abortion clinic caller told emergency responders. “We can’t provide that care except for oxygen and we’re trying to keep the fetus stable until someone arrives.”
Earlier reports revealed that an abortion center nurse 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. “Oh my God, this fetus is moving,” she said, according to police.
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.
Federal government reports also indicate that a number of babies may have 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.”
