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My personal musings about anything that gets on my radar screen--heavily dominated by politics.

2007-05-01

This Is An Atrocity

I heard John Eastman read this, from p. 14 of the Supreme Court decision in Gonzales v Carhart, on the Hugh Hewitt Show tonight. It's not really news to me, but it is worth reiterating.

Warning: graphic details follow.

In the usual intact D&E the fetus’ head lodges in the cervix, and dilation is insufficient to allow it to pass. See, e.g., ibid.; App. in No. 05–380, at 577; App. in No. 05–1382, at 74, 282. Haskell explained the next step as follows:

"‘At this point, the right-handed surgeon slides thefingers of the left [hand] along the back of the fetusand "hooks" the shoulders of the fetus with the index and ring fingers (palm down).
"‘While maintaining this tension, lifting the cervix and applying traction to the shoulders with the fin-gers of the left hand, the surgeon takes a pair of bluntcurved Metzenbaum scissors in the right hand. He carefully advances the tip, curved down, along the spine and under his middle finger until he feels it con-tact the base of the skull under the tip of his middle finger.

"‘[T]he surgeon then forces the scissors into the base of the skull or into the foramen magnum. Havingsafely entered the skull, he spreads the scissors to enlarge the opening.

"‘The surgeon removes the scissors and introduces a suction catheter into this hole and evacuates the skull contents. With the catheter still in place, he appliestraction to the fetus, removing it completely from the patient.’" H. R. Rep. No. 108–58, p. 3 (2003).

This is an abortion doctor’s clinical description. Here is another description from a nurse who witnessed the same method performed on a 26½-week fetus and who testified
before the Senate Judiciary Committee:

"‘Dr. Haskell went in with forceps and grabbed the baby’s legs and pulled them down into the birth canal. Then he delivered the baby’s body and the arms—everything but the head. The doctor kept the head right inside the uterus. . . .

"‘The baby’s little fingers were clasping and unclasping, and his little feet were kicking. Then the doctor stuck the scissors in the back of his head, and the baby’s arms jerked out, like a startle reaction, like a flinch, like a baby does when he thinks he is going to fall.

"‘The doctor opened up the scissors, stuck a high-powered suction tube into the opening, and sucked the baby’s brains out. Now the baby went completely limp. . . .

Words really don't come close to expressing my revulsion and profound sadness that there are people in this country who actually believe a woman has a right to do this to her baby. Or that there are doctors willing to do this.

Just so you know what they're really talking about.
Posted by: Michael / 5/01/2007 11:09:00 PM

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