Politics

Abortion clinic describes room-service abortions: ‘Just sit on the toilet’ and wait

Font Size:

As the Texas legislature reconvenes for a special session to consider late-term abortion restrictions, the pro-life group Live Action released more undercover video of a late-term abortion clinic in neighboring New Mexico.

In an edited audio recording release Monday by Live Action, a counselor at the Southwestern Women’s Options clinic in Albuquerque tells a 27-week-pregnant undercover “investigator” that she can just sit on the toilet of her hotel room and wait for assistance should she deliver her still-born infant early.

“If we can’t catch [the delivery] early enough, which it has happened… If you’re feeling pressure, it’s moving down or something coming out, the pregnancy coming out, then you’ll want to unlock the door to the hotel room, get your cell phone, and just sit on the toilet,” the unnamed counselor advises.

“You don’t have to look at anything you don’t have to clean up or nothing, just be on the phone with us and we’ll kind of — and you can stay on the phone with us until the doctor and nurse get there,” she adds.

Watch:

The video features the audio of clinic workers explaining the three-day procedure, which involves injecting the fetus with a toxin, feeling the fetus stop moving, checking to make sure that the injection worked, and then inducing labor to deliver it.

Live Action’s graphics and depictions appear on screen, including footage of what premature babies at 24-weeks, 27-weeks, and 28-weeks look like.

The video also features a conversation with abortionist Carmen Landau, who explains that the procedure is “definitely safer” than delivering a full-term live baby.

“You know, the bigger the pregnancy, the more risks there are in delivering,” she tells the investigator.

Landau further echoes the advice of the counselor who advised the investigator to go to the toilet if labor beings early.

“If you’re one of those lucky people that has no pain with contractions and, all of a sudden, you’re like, ‘Ahh! Something’s coming out!’ You sit on the toile and you call us and you unlock the hotel room and we come in and take care of you,” Landau says on the recording.

The Republican-controlled House recently passed legislation banning abortion after 20-weeks. Live Action’s video features footage of the House debate on the ban, which is not expected to pass the Senate.

Monday the Texas legislature will be reconsidering legislation that would impose a statewide abortion ban after 20-weeks and apply stricter standards for abortion clinics. The legislation gained a national attention last week when Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis staged an 11-hour filibuster against the bill.

Southwestern Women’s Options has a branch in Dallas, Texas which performs abortions up to 24-weeks. The clinic in Albuquerque performs abortions up to 28 weeks.

This is the second video Live Action has released featuring the Southwestern Women’s Options clinic and Landau. It is their sixth video in their “Inhuman” series.

 Follow Caroline on Twitter