Babies Surviving Abortion — “Substandard Medicine”

The Times [London] reports that an agency of the British government is set to investigate reports that up to 50 babies a year are born alive after botched abortions. See this:

The investigation, by the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health (CEMACH), comes amid growing unease among clinicians over a legal ambiguity that could see them being charged with infanticide. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, which regulates methods of abortion, has also mounted its own investigation. Its guidelines say that babies aborted after more than 21 weeks and six days of gestation should have their hearts stopped by an injection of potassium chloride before being delivered. In practice, few doctors are willing or able to perform the delicate procedure.

Stuart Campbell, a former professor of obstetrics at London’s St. George’s Hospital, commented: “I am not anti-abortion, but as far as I am concerned this is sub-standard medicine.” Substandard medicine? This statement underlines the moral insanity of abortion. When an abortion “fails” and a live baby is born, this is claimed to be “substandard medicine.” A profession supposedly committed to saving lives apologizes for its failure to kill.

Note also that the doctors are worried about being prosecuted for infanticide if these babies die from denial of care. From the report: “If a baby is born alive following a failed abortion and then dies (because of lack of care), you could potentially be charged with murder,” said Shantala Vadeyar, a consultant obstetrician at South Manchester University Hospitals NHS Trust, who led the study.

Look carefully at this: Paul Clarke, a neonatal intensive care specialist in Norwich, has treated a boy born at 24 weeks after three failed abortion attempts. The mother decided to keep the child, who is now two years old but is suffering what doctors call “significant ongoing medical problems.”

“The survival of this child was not recorded in any official statistics,” Clarke said. “There is nothing at the moment to force abortion practitioners to account for their failures.”