Posted on 06/15/2003 6:07:50 PM PDT by Nan48
June 14, 2003
RenewAmerica staff report
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The picture and its story have been circulated on the internet so often that some question whether they are authentic. They are.
Clancy describes the famous picture this way: "Samuel thrusts his tiny hand out of the surgical opening of his mother's uterus. As the doctor lifts his hand, Samuel reacts to the touch and squeezes the doctor's finger. As if testing for strength, the doctor shakes the tiny fist. Samuel held firm. At that moment, I took this 'Fetal Hand Grasp' photo."
In a story he wrote about the incident, Clancy added,
"As a doctor asked me what speed of film I was using, out of the corner of my eye I saw the uterus shake, but no one's hands were near it. It was shaking from within. Suddenly, an entire arm thrust out of the opening, then pulled back until just a little hand was showing. The doctor reached over and lifted the hand, which reacted and squeezed the doctor's finger. As if testing for strength, the doctor shook the tiny fist. Samuel held firm. I took the picture! Wow! It happened so fast that the nurse standing next to me asked, 'What happened?' 'The child reached out,' I said. 'Oh. They do that all the time,' she responded."
Clancy said the experience changed him from pro-choice to pro-life.
Not only did USA Today run the photo, but so did a number of other media sources in the United States, Canada, Ireland, England, France, Norway, Singapore, and South America.
The photo generated controversy at Fox News, where then-talk show host Matt Drudge was prevented by the network from broadcasting the image on his show. That was in the early years of Fox, before the cable giant rose to the top by appealing to conservatives. Drudge
Samuel was born on Dec. 2, 1999, weighing 5 pounds 11 ounces
To read some of the history and various accounts of "The Baby Hand," click on the following links:
The most commonly used name for the procedure is "partial birth abortion." The liberals refer to it as just removing unviable tissue mass. I refer to it as infanticide.
How many people have heard of Samuel Armas? Telling his story would be another example of how to impress people with the truth that the unborn are just as human as we are. Samuel was operated on at 21-weeks gestation in utero for a spinal cord defect. Pictures of his hand grasping the surgeons (above) are among the most powerful and unforgettable in recent years.
He was born on Thursday, Dec. 2, 1999 weighing 5 lbs, 11 oz. Samuel’s mom, Julie later wrote, “He was born at 36 weeks but came into the world screaming his head off! He did not have to spend any time in a neonatal unit and came home with us on Monday, Dec. 6.”
Samuel at home, happy in his crib.
The Armas story and his pictures should be part of every Pro-Life Educational program. Students will have a personal story of “Life Before Birth” that simply cannot be denied or forgotten.
From the Web:
A picture began circulating in November (2000). It should be "The Picture of the Year," or perhaps, “Picture of the Decade.” It won't be. In fact, unless you obtained a copy of the paper, you probably never will see it. The picture is that of a 21-week-old unborn baby named Samuel Alexander Armas, who is being operated on by a surgeon named Joseph Bruner
The baby was diagnosed with spina bifida and would not survive if removed from his mother's womb. Little Samuel's mother, Julie Armas, is an obstetrics nurse in Atlanta. She knew of Dr. Bruner's remarkable surgical procedure. Practicing at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, he performs these special operations while the baby is still in the womb. During the procedure, the doctor removes the uterus via C-section and makes a small incision to operate on the baby.
During the surgery on little Samuel, the little guy reached his tiny, but fully developed, hand through the incision and firmly grasped the surgeon's finger. The photograph captures this amazing event with perfect clarity. The editors titled the picture, "Hand of Hope." The text explaining the picture begins, "The tiny hand of 21-week-old fetus Samuel Alexander Armas emerges from the mother's uterus to grasp the finger of Dr. Joseph Bruner as if thanking the doctor for the gift of life. "
Little Samuel's mother said they "wept for days" when they saw the picture. She said, "The photo reminds us my pregnancy isn't about disability or an illness, it's about a little person."
The LORD called me before my birth;
from within the womb he called me by name.
Isaiah 49:1
Myself included....I cried through this picture....what a great story, and such great TRUTH about whether it's a baby or a tissue mass. :o)
Thanks for the ping, CGK
Prayer for the Helpless Unborn
Heavenly Father, in your love for us,
protect against the wickedness of the
devil, those helpless little ones to
whom you have give the gift of life.
Touch with pity the hearts of those
women pregnant in our world today
who are not thinking of motherhood.
Help them to see that the child they
carry is made in your image- as well
as theirs- made for eternal life.
Dispel their fear and selfishness and
give them tur womanly hearts to love
their babies and give them birth and
all the needed care that a mother
alone can give.
We ask this through Jesus Christ,
your Son, our Lord, who lives and
reigns in the Holy Spirit, one God,
forever and ever.
Amen.
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