In newly released 911 tapes, an abortion clinic worker describes the scene of a botched abortion, telling the operator “the fetus is breathing, so we need to care for it now.” The baby later died at the hospital.
The incident happened in February at an Arizona family planning center, when a 27-year-old mother who was 21 weeks along came in for a scheduled abortion, reports Arizona’s 12 News. She had taken medication designed to kill the fetus, so the abortionist could then remove it from the womb, but when she arrived, police reports said she went into spontaneous labor.
Although the abortionist says she checked for a heartbeat prior to delivery, the mother delivered a living baby. The clinic worker apparently realized the “fetus” was living when she put its body on a cold metal scale police believe caused it to flinch.
“Oh my god, this fetus is moving,” a clinic worker said, according to the police report. She then called 911, again referring to the living child that lay dying on the metal scale as a “fetus,” reports Atlanta NBC affiliate 11 News.
“The fetus is breathing, so we need to care for it now,” she told the operator. Asked whether the fetus had been harmed in any way, the worker said no.
“We can’t provide care, except for oxygen, and we’re trying to keep the fetus stable until someone arrives.”
The baby was transported to the hospital in an ambulance, but died within minutes of arriving. Federal law requires abortionists to actively care for babies that survive abortion attempts.
“Absolutely nobody did anything wrong,” Kat Sabine, executive director of the Arizona chapter of NARAL Pro-Choice America, told 12 News. “The doctor in fact did everything right.”
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