Carly_fiorina_speakingI’ve been thinking about that terrible Fiorina was “Right” video purported by the Center for Bio Ethics to be from an abortion clinic.

Terrible not because it is an abortion or representative of an abortion or that abortion is anything but reproductive health care, but because I am sure it is not an abortion.

I wrote yesterday about the things in the video that told me it was a premature delivery such as the clamped cord and the delay in removing the placenta.

Today I viewed it again on a very large screen and noticed the width of the bed. It is clearly a labor and delivery bed, procedure/operating tables (used for clinic abortions and in the operating room) are much narrower. Also the part of the stirrup that is visible in the upper left is typical of a labor and delivery bed. As I was going through it frame by frame I noticed movement on the right side close to the minute mark. There is an African-American man who is sitting and moving back and forth as if he is wiping the brow of the woman on the table and comforting her. His face is clearly visible in the right upper corner at the 54 second mark. And of course that is what happens at premature deliveries, support persons come in. Partners don’t get to come back for abortions, that’s not how it works. I took a screen shot to be sure, but I feel wrong about posting it. Anyone who doesn’t believe me can look for themselves.

As for the “poking and prodding” of the premature fetus that enraged many people on Twitter it looks as if the operator is inspecting for any grossly visible defects, but it is also possible he is describing a fetus at the 17-18 week developmental stage to the person who was illegally taping the premature delivery. Maybe the operator was asked to describe things? As there are no obvious defects this is unlikely an induction of labor for genetic reasons, also those happen at a later gestational age (around 20-22 weeks).

Why wasn’t a blanket given to the baby? If the mother declined to hold her baby after delivery then typically nothing additional would be done and the body would go to the morgue or pathology for autopsy depending on the plans/circumstance. It is also possible no one offered the patient the option to hold and that would be sad. However, not everyone is brave to hold their baby in that situation. It took me over an hour to work up the courage when my son was born prematurely at 22 weeks and died.

But all I can say is this is a premature delivery and it is despicable that it was held out as an abortion.

David Daleiden and Greg Cunningham at the Center for Bio Ethics have exploited a woman’s premature delivery – the presence of a support person is clear proof. This is a crime and of course the small clip of this video is what ramped up the level of outrage leading to extensive investigations that have turned up nothing.

I assume the Federal government will be calling Daleiden and Cunningham from the Center for Bio Ethics to testify.

If you have to lie about abortion to get people outraged then obviously you have a weak position and it appears that the only criminal activity that has occurred was the taping of this delivery.

Daleiden, image from raw Story
Daleiden, image from raw Story

 

 

 

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  1. Small nit to pick with your otherwise brilliant essay (I’m a fan now):

    “There is an African-American man who is sitting and moving back and forth as if he is wiping the brow of the woman on the table and comforting her. His face is clearly visible in the right upper corner at the 54 second mark.”

    As we don’t know where this video was shot and it may well not have been in North or South America, let alone the USA, it’s speculation to refer to the man as “African-American”. How about just “man”?

  2. I’ve been involved in hundreds of premature deliveries. This was not a premature delivery being taped. It was an abortion.

    1. Please tell us about your training and the specific reasons why.
      I graduated from a 5 yr OB/GYN program that did about 6,000 deliveries/yr and have 20 years experience as an OB/GYN and I myself had a premature previable delivery.

      Clamping the cord and waiting for the placenta and the delivery room type of bed all speak against an abortion. It would be exceedingly rare for a support person to be acting this way and present at a 17-18 week termination unless it were and induction of labor for fetal anomalies, but none are visibly apparent.

  3. Dr. Gunter,

    In your recent post you claimed that “Partners don’t get to come back for abortions, that’s not how it works”. Do you mean they don’t come back for second trimester abortions? I’ve shadowed during more than a few first trimester abortions where a mom, male partner, or friend was in the room as a support person (not the norm but not uncommon). For all the 2nd trimester procedures I’ve shadowed, involving sedation, however, I’d agree that from my experience a support person is not likely to be in the room.

    Keep wielding your lasso!

    Cheers,

    Mark

    >

  4. Did you see this guy on CNN? He called the baby “A creature”!?! So pro-life! These people are the biggest hypocrites ever. One of them (anti-abortion) is going down to “Oz” and he’s sitting in front of a dead animal. So pro life.
    My big half sis had a illegal mexican abortion before roe vs wade and almost died. She could never have kids ever. This is what they want, back alley abortion clinic again. Coat-hanger brigades. These people are the most hateful,miserable, spiteful, despicable people on the planet. All of ’em any of ’em!
    And Carly is the worst using this video in the debate and crowing about it “I’m right”!!! What a sick, sick Narcissist!

  5. Dr. Gunter, if you can answer this, WHY do you think this premature delivery / birth was filmed? Usually filming is not allowed in many birthing situations, especially a precarious delivery such as a premature delivery?

    1. I think it was clandestinely shot, the camera hidden under a gown or scrub jacket, or it could have been shot for educational purposes with parent’s consent, but I think that far less liekly

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