‘Each finger could be counted’: Doctor encounters baby in first trimester

Melissa Ogle, MD, is a pro-life doctor I wrote about in a previous article. When she was young, she had an abortion and deeply regretted it. She told her story in her book Still Healing: A Doctor’s Story of Abortion. Many years after her abortion, a woman came to her whose preborn baby had died in utero. To prevent serious health problems in the woman, Ogle had to remove the body of the baby from the woman’s womb. This was not an abortion, because the baby was already dead. It was the completion of a miscarriage.

Although it was not an abortion, as it did not terminate a baby’s life, the technique Ogle used is the same one used in first trimester abortions. In fact, it is the most common abortion method used in America today. In this type of abortion, the cervix (neck of the womb) is dilated and an instrument called a cannula is inserted in the woman’s womb. The cannula is attached to a tube which in turn is attached to a powerful suction machine. When the suction machine is turned on, the child is pulled into the tube. Usually, the baby is dismembered during this process. Then the abortionist must inspect the remains.

Former abortionist Dr. Anthony Levatino, who himself performed thousands of abortions, illustrates this abortion method:

1st Trimester Surgical Abortion: Suction (Aspiration) D & C

This is Ogle’s first hand account of the procedure:

In this situation, the cervix is forced open with an instrument called a dilator. A suction tube is then placed within the uterine cavity. The suction is turned on, the amniotic sac is ruptured, and the fetus is removed. As our bodies at this stage are well-formed, it was necessary for me to identify each body part as it was evacuated. Despite the knowledge that the baby was no longer alive, it was indeed the most difficult procedure I’ve ever performed as an obstetrician. As each portion of this little person was accounted for, my heart sank deeper and deeper. Many tears were shed during the procedure – both mine and those of others in the room. I imagine that every individual present in that operating room was taken to a deep place within their soul as that little one was removed limb from limb from its place of security. Each finger could be counted, each rib clearly seen.

For Ogle and the witnesses, it was a gruesome and heartbreaking experience. This child never had a chance to be born. His or her life ended through natural causes, and nothing could be done to save him. But thousands of these same procedures are done every day on living, healthy preborn children who, as a new study shows, may actually feel pain even in the first trimester.

Ogle writes about her experience so people can understand how horrific abortion is, even in the first trimester. The dismembered body parts of babies like this one are thrown away as medical waste in abortion facilities around the country, or sold for research. Ogle’s sad account reveals how awful a suction aspiration abortion is.

Source:  Marissa Ogle, M.D. Still Healing (2016) 3