Mother calls for 911 after her 22-week baby is born alive after abortion

Mandating that living, breathing, born-alive infants be regarded as human beings should not be very controversial, but children who survive abortions are often killed by abortionists, or left to die. Here is the heartbreaking story of one survivor, baby Rowan:

In April of 2005, a pregnant woman named “Angele,” decided to abort her 22-week-old preborn baby. She was in her 30s, divorced, and already had two children. She did not want a third child. She chose Orlando Women’s Center, also called EPOC Clinic, operated by Dr. James Pendergraft. The abortion facility’s website advertises “3 minute pain-free abortions.” The Orlando Women’s Center has published newspaper ads offering abortions up to 28 weeks.

Angele had named her baby Rowan. She chose a method of abortion that she hoped would cause the child a minimum of suffering – an injection of digoxin in the heart to kill him, rather than dismemberment by D&E.

The abortionist first had to insert laminaria, small sticks that expand inside the woman and dilate the cervix, making the abortion procedure easier. Before the insertion of laminaria, Angele was given a sedative. In her own words:

Angele says facility workers discussed injecting the digoxin, but they never did. She described the abortionist Harry Perper, MD, as “a very fast moving, hyperactive type of person.”

When Angele went back to the hotel, she continued to feel her baby kick. This confused her because she had been led to believe that the baby would be dead. At one point, in the middle of the night, while the baby was still kicking, she considered calling the facility’s after-hours line, but decided not to.

The next morning, Angele took the pills meant to cause her body to expel her baby. She arrived at the clinic around 9 a.m. She was ushered into a room and told that her abortionist would not be in the clinic until 2 p.m., and that if she delivered before then, without him present, she would have to stay and be examined by him. Angele was given a blanket and a heating pad, and left alone to go through labor.

The contractions began. At one point, the pain became intense and she asked facility worker “Violene” if she could be given anything to ease the pain. She also told Violene that she thought she was about to deliver. Violene told her she was not ready, and left her again. In Angele’s own words:

The worker took one look at the moving baby and told Angele that she would get her supervisor. But the minutes ticked by, and no one came. It became clear to Angele that Violene was not going to summon help. She grabbed her phone and quickly dialed her friend, pleading with her to call 911 and send paramedics to save her baby. Listen to the call here.

Angele continued to be left alone with her son, who she said reacted to her voice. All she could do was try and comfort him:

Finally, the baby stopped moving as Angele waited for help.

She cradled the dead baby and began to pray, filled with remorse for choosing to undergo the abortion. A staff member came and demanded that she give her the baby. Angele refused, and continued to hold on to Rowan. The clinic workers left her alone briefly but returned to pressure her to give up the body of the child.

Meanwhile, the police (not the paramedics) showed up at the clinic. It was later found out that the paramedics had come, but a clinic worker, thought to be Violene, told them that a patient had merely “passed some tissue” and that “the physician had the situation under control.”(1) She convinced them not to enter the clinic (the physician was not in the clinic at all when Violene told them this).

When Violene came back after talking to the police, Angele said:

Although the abortionist had never arrived and Angele had been told she had to be examined by him, the clinic workers seemed to want nothing more than to get her (and her friend, who had arrived) out of the clinic. They gave her a bag with medicine in it and ushered them both out the door.

Angele wanted an autopsy to be performed to prove Rowan was born alive. The local coroner refused to do it. Eventually, an autopsy was performed by Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jan C. Garavaglia. The medical examiner was unable to determine whether Rowan had been born alive, because she did not find air in his lungs. However, she also found that, as Angele had said, the baby had most likely never been injected with Dixogin (there were no needle marks anywhere on the baby’s body, which would have been left had the injection occurred). Dr. Garavaglia stated that it was “probable” that Rowan’s heart had been beating; therefore, he had been born alive. Without air in the lungs, however, it could not be officially proven. You can see Rowan’s autopsy report here.

No action was ever taken against the clinic for Rowan’s death. As Live Action investigated, born-alive infants are tragically left alone to die, or killed by abortionists themselves. Planned Parenthood even has lobbied in favor of infanticide.

Angele later wrote a letter to Operation Rescue’s Troy Newman in which she said in part:

1. Lynn Vincent“Death By Drowning” World 6/18/05