PHOENIX, Ariz. — Newly-released audio footage of a 911 call from an Arizona abortion facility reveals that a child who had been scheduled for an abortion was breathing and moving after exiting the womb.
The incident occurred in February at Family Planning Associates in Phoenix, Arizona, operated by abortionist Edward Allred.
The child’s 27-year-old mother had arrived to complete the abortion of her 21-week-old (5 month old) baby, which is “legal” under Arizona law. She had taken an abortifacient two days prior as per the facility’s instructions, which was to have stopped the child’s heartbeat.
However, the baby survived the medicinal stage of the abortion, and the mother went into labor as the surgical procedure began.
Abortionist Eleanor Stanley asserted that she found no heartbeat after the baby was born, but when workers noticed the baby moving on the scale, one exclaimed, “Oh my G**! This fetus is moving!”
They then called 911. It is required under federal law for abortionists to provide medical care to survivor infants and not leave them to die.
“We are a termination clinic. There was a termination that was performed,” an employee explains to the 911 dispatcher. “There is a fetus who is breathing right now so we need someone to do services.”
The dispatcher then asked if the baby had been harmed in any way; the worker said no.
“The fetus is breathing so we need care for it now,” she said. “We can’t provide that care except for oxygen, and we’re trying to keep the fetus stable until someone arrives.”
The baby died minutes after arriving at the hospital, and pro-life groups held a vigil for the child, who they named Chava, a Hebrew word meaning “life.” NARAL Pro-Choice America has now decried the concern, stating that pro-lifers “pushed to make this a bigger story than it needed to be.”
But some state that the incident demonstrates a number of important facts.
“I do know this: You had a human being that was born, a human being who died,” attorney John Jakubczyk told local television station WKYC.
The pro-life group Live Action also notes that it had conducted an undercover investigation at the same facility several years prior and was told that nothing would be done to care for infants who are born alive. Abortionist Laura Mercer, who was questioned by the 23-week pregnant investigator, said not to call 911 as “they would intervene and do all kinds of crazy things that you don’t need to have done to you.”
“So why did the facility worker call 911 in this case? There is no way to know,” the organization states. “Perhaps the baby’s mother, realizing her baby was alive and moving, had a change of heart and wanted to save her child. Perhaps a worker took pity on the baby; or it could be that due to Live Action’s investigation, the worker knew they were being watched very carefully by pro-lifers.”
The discussion is wider than just the Phoeonix facility. As part of a Congressional investigation, the House Select Panel on Infant Lives also subpoenaed Maryland abortionist Leroy Carhart this month to provide “policy and procedures … including any training provided to staff on how to care for an infant born alive.” Carhart is suspected of allowing babies to die after surviving abortions—a violation of federal law.