WATCH: OB/GYN says modern medicine proves humanity of the preborn

Speaking to attendees at Live Action’s Young Leaders Summit in March, pro-life OB-GYN Dr. William Lile revealed how modern medicine makes it clear that preborn children in the womb are fully human and deserving of equal protection.

Key Takeaways:

• Dr. William Lile, known as the "Pro-Life Doc," told attendees at Live Action's Young Leaders Summit that true maternal-fetal medicine treats both mother and baby as patients.

• He gave examples of how modern medicine can often treat preborn children while they are still growing in the womb.

• He also explained that though there are times maternal-fetal separation is necessary due to an emergency, intentional killing (induced abortion) is not medically necessary.

The Details:

Modern Medicine Destroys the Abortion Argument | Young Leaders Summit 2026

Lile, often known as the “Pro-Life Doc,” explained that maternal-fetal medicine recognizes preborn children as patients deserving of care and protection.

“We have a couple of rules in our school of medicine,” he said. “Rule number one is that abortion is not health care. The second rule is that patients have rights. All patients.”

Those patients, Lile said, include preborn children. He explained that there are now procedures doctors can perform on these preborn babies, including life-saving blood transfusions administered while they are still in the womb. When this is done, a doctor can insert a needle through the mother’s abdomen and into the umbilical vein to treat severe fetal anemia — as early as 17 weeks of pregnancy.

“If we can give lifesaving blood transfusions to babies in the womb, is that a patient?” Lile asked. “Yes. And a patient is a person, no matter how small.”

He also highlighted groundbreaking fetal surgeries, including the case of a baby who underwent open-heart surgery at just 27 weeks gestation in order to remove a dangerous tumor attached to his heart. A team of 36 medical professionals operated on both mother and child, ultimately allowing the baby to remain in the womb for 10 more weeks before delivery.

“This is health care at the highest level,” Lile said. “Two patients with heartbeats went in, two patients with heartbeats went out.”

In another instance, a preborn baby underwent vascular brain surgery while in his mother’s womb. “A patient is a person, no matter how small,” Lile reiterated. “And all patients have rights.”

Zoom In:

Lile also addressed medical emergencies, arguing that these should be treated by delivering the baby rather than intentionally ending the child’s life.

“Is abortion ever medically necessary to save the life of the mom?” he asked, then answered:

"Short answer is no. Sometimes we have to deliver the baby early because yes, pregnancy is a challenge to the mom's body. We can have patients going into heart failure, liver failure, kidney failure in the womb. How do we cure them? We separate the mom from the baby, fetal maternal separation by delivering that baby early. And our maternal fetal medicine centers are doing so well with taking care of these tiny preemies."

“If mom’s health is truly in jeopardy, deliver the baby,” he said. “Killing the baby does not help the health and the life of the mother.”

The Bottom Line:

Lile concluded by encouraging attendees, saying, “When we work together and we put our faith into action,” he said, “we will save the lives of God’s preborn.”