Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Neutral descriptions of fetal remains

Most descriptions of aborted fetuses come from prolifers, and are therefore supposedly distorted and sensationalized. I'll let more objective sources describe the products of conception. (For the complete, unedited version of this article, click here.) WARNING: Extremely graphic!

From a September 2, 1992 story in the Charlotte Observer about fetuses found in a dumpster outside an abortion clinic:
[A] Charlotte Observer reporter saw ... fetal tissue removed from the dumpster adjacent to the clinic. The remains ... included readily identifiable body parts. Among them were a left forearm and hand, a left leg and foot, a right forearm and hand, part of a right foot, and a spinal column and rib cage.

From the autopsy on Madgalena Rodriguez, who died in an attempted legal abortion:
[T]he body of the baby was not complete when autopsied. Both arms had been cut off; the heart, lungs, liver, and other organs had been cut out, the front of the chest and abdomen were missing, the right femur was fractured, the head was intact except for an area on the scalp which had been taken off from the back of the head.

From an autopsy performed on two fetuses found in a trash container next to an abortion clinic:
FETUS #1: Parts of a fetus of indeterminate sex include a skull cap, both arms total with scapula intact, the entire vertebral column with a portion of rib cage attached, the pelvic girdle, the left femur, and both lower legs with feet attached. A kidney, the tongue, and one eye was also retrieved. Gestational age was estimated at 4 months, perhaps very slightly greater, estimated on length of long bones. Measurements are as follows: femur 28 mm. ...foot length 18 mm. ... hand length 15 mm. .... FETUS #2: A beheaded male fetus of an estimated 7-8 weeks gestation. The length of the fetus from shoulder to rump is estimated at 2.2 cm... The arms and scapula girdle was traumatically detached and retrieved in a separate piece.

The fetus found during an autopsy on Janet Forster, who died from abortion complications:
[Autopsy found a] macerated, lacerated and purulent male fetus of about 19 weeks gestation. This fetus measures 14.5 cm. in crown-rump length, shows lacerations in the shoulder area, evisceration of the bowel through an abdominal laceration, and destruction of the skull and facial structures.

From the autopsy on Barbaralee Davis, who died from a botched abortion:
Two fetal parts, the face and thoracic spinal column, are embedded in a 700 cc. fresh hematoma inside the uterus. .... In an attempt to estimate the length of gestation in the absence of the whole fetus, the two parts, namely the face, less the crown, and the thoracic vertebral column without the rump, are laid end to end. Together they measure 9 cm. .... This will place the gestational age at 16 to 16 1/2 weeks.

These fetuses ranged in age from about 7 weeks to over 30 weeks (Magdalena Rodrigez' baby). What's most striking to me is the similarity of the descriptions. Only the size is obvious giveaway as to how old the fetus in question was. So much for abortion just removing a blob of tissue.

Can anybody look at those mangled fetal remains and say that achieving that result -- a dead, mangled fetus -- was worth injuring or even killing his or her mother?

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