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Death in the Delivery Room
Priests for Life ^ | Jill Stanek

Posted on 01/15/2004 11:45:54 AM PST by Joe Republc

Death in the Delivery Room

The Testimony of Jill Stanek, R.N.

I had been working for a year at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois, as a registered nurse in the Labor and Delivery Department, when I heard in report that we were aborting a second-trimester baby with Down’s syndrome. I was completely shocked. In fact, I had specifically chosen to work at Christ Hospital because it was a Christian hospital and not involved, so I thought, in abortion. It hurt so much that the very place these abortions were being committed was at a hospital named after my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I was further grieved to learn that the hospital’s religious affiliates, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and the United Church of Christ, were pro-abortion. I had no idea that any Christian denomination could be pro-abortion!

But what became most distressing was to learn of the method Christ Hospital uses to abort, called induced labor abortion, now also known as "live birth abortion." For this particular abortion procedure doctors do not attempt to kill the baby in the uterus. The goal is simply to prematurely deliver a baby who dies during the birth process or soon afterward.

To commit induced labor abortion, a doctor or resident inserts a medication into the mother’s birth canal close to the cervix. The cervix is the opening at the bottom of the uterus that normally stays closed until a mother is about 40 weeks pregnant and ready to deliver. This medication irritates the cervix and stimulates it to open early. When this occurs, the small second or third trimester pre-term, fully formed baby falls out of the uterus, sometimes alive. By law, if an aborted baby is born alive, both birth and death certificates must be issued. Ironically, at Christ Hospital the cause of death often listed for live aborted babies is "extreme prematurity," an acknowledgement by doctors that they have caused this death.

It is not uncommon for a live aborted baby to linger for an hour or two or even longer. At Christ Hospital one of these babies lived for almost an entire eight-hour shift. Some of the babies aborted are healthy, because Christ Hospital will also abort for life or "health" of the mother, and also for rape or incest.

In the event that an aborted baby is born alive, she or he receives "comfort care," defined as keeping the baby warm in a blanket until she dies. Parents may hold the baby if they wish. If the parents do not want to hold their dying aborted baby, a staff member cares for the baby until she dies. If staff does not have the time or desire to hold the baby, she is taken to Christ Hospital’s new Comfort Room, which is complete with a First Foto machine if parents want professional pictures of their aborted baby, baptismal supplies, gowns, and certificates, foot printing equipment and baby bracelets for mementos, and a rocking chair. Before the Comfort Room was established, babies were taken to the Soiled Utility Room to die.

One night, a nursing co-worker was taking a Down’s syndrome baby who was aborted alive to our Soiled Utility Room because his parents did not want to hold him, and she did not have time to hold him. I could not bear the thought of this suffering child dying alone in a Soiled Utility Room, so I cradled and rocked him for the 45 minutes that he lived. He was between 21 and 22 weeks old, weighed about 1/2 pound, and was about 10 inches long. He was too weak to move very much, expending any energy he had trying to breathe. Toward the end he was so quiet that I could not tell if he was still alive. I held him up to the light to see through his chest wall whether his heart was still beating. After he was pronounced dead, we folded his little arms across his chest, wrapped him in a tiny shroud, and carried him to the hospital morgue where all of our dead patients are taken.

After I held that baby, the weight of what I knew became too much for me to bear. I had two choices. One choice was to leave the hospital and go work at a hospital that didn’t commit abortions. The other was to attempt to change Christ Hospital’s abortion practice. Then, I read a Scripture that spoke directly to me and my situation. Proverbs 24:11-12 says, "Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to death; don’t stand back and let them die. Don’t try to disclaim responsibility by saying you didn’t know about it. For God, who knows all hearts, knows yours, and he knows you knew! And he will reward everyone according to his deeds." I decided that to quit at that point would be irresponsible and disobedient to God. Sure, I might be more comfortable if I left the hospital, but babies would continue to die.

The journey God has taken me on since I first stepped out in obedience to fight abortion at a hospital named after His Son has been overwhelming! I travel around the country now, describing what I or other staff have witnessed. I have testified four times before National and Illinois Congressional Subcommittees. Bills are being introduced to stop this form of abortion that results in infanticide. The subject of Christ Hospital and live birth abortion has garnered much public attention. Descriptions of "live birth abortions" have now been told on national television, on radio, in print, and by local and national legislators. Among hundreds of examples are

Father Frank Pavone’s radio show and EWTN television program, Defending Life Fox Cable News programs O’Reilly Factor and Hannity and Colmes Chuck Colson’s radio program, Breakpoint Dr. Laura’s television program Dr. Jerry Falwell’s television program, Listen America Articles and editorials in U. S. News and World Report, World Magazine, The Washington Times, The New York Times, Newsweek, Christianity Today, and Focus on the Family Citizen Magazine, to name a few. Another nurse from Christ Hospital also testified with me in Washington. Allison described walking into the Soiled Utility Room on two separate occasions to find live aborted babies left naked on a scale and the metal counter. I testified about a staff worker who accidentally threw a live aborted baby in the garbage. The baby had been left on the counter of the Soiled Utility Room wrapped in a disposable towel. When my coworker realized what she had done, she started going through the trash to find the baby, and the baby fell out of the towel and onto the floor.

Other hospitals have now admitted that they commit live birth abortion. It apparently is not a rare form of abortion. But Christ Hospital was the first hospital in the United States to be publicly exposed for committing this form of abortion.

On August 31, 2001, after a 2-1/2 year battle with the hospital, I was fired. I am free now to openly discuss the horrors of abortion after having seen its horror with my own eyes. I can personally testify to the fact that One + God = the majority. Each one of us has a voice that we must use to stop the atrocity of abortion.

Priests for Life would like to thank Jill Stanek for her courageous witness. You can do your part to spread her testimony by having her speak in your community. Contact our Speakers' Bureau at PO Box 141172, Staten Island, NY 10314; Tel: 888-PFL-3448 ext. 258; Fax: 603-908-3075; email: travels@priestsforlife.org.

You may also order this brochure in quantity by contacting our Orders Department at PO Box 141172, Staten Island, NY 10314, 888-PFL-3448 ext. 237; Fax: 718-980-3900; email: orders@priestsforlife.org.

Priests for Life PO Box 141172 Staten Island, NY 10314 Tel. 888-PFL-3448, (718) 980-4400 Fax 718-980-6515 Email mail@priestsforlife.org

Subscribe to Fr. Frank's bi-weekly prolife column (free): subscribe@priestsforlife.org

Click here to See What Abortion Looks Like!


TOPICS: Culture/Society; US: Illinois
KEYWORDS: abortion; elca; frfrankpavone; inducedlaborabortion; jillstanek; latetermabortion; livebirthabortion; pavone; pfl; priestsforlife
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To: Joe Republc
Shame on ther ELCA for their participation in these planned, premeditated murders!

I'll bet most rank and file Lutherans have no idea this is going on in their hospitals.
21 posted on 01/15/2004 9:45:11 PM PST by Palladin (Proud to be a FReeper!)
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To: Joe Republc
bttt
22 posted on 01/16/2004 3:08:09 AM PST by lainde (Heads up...We're coming and we've got tongue blades!!)
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To: 2nd amendment mama; A2J; Agitate; Alouette; Annie03; aposiopetic; attagirl; axel f; Balto_Boy; ...
ProLife Ping!

If anyone wants on or off my ProLife Ping List, please notify me here or by freepmail.

23 posted on 01/16/2004 1:41:22 PM PST by Mr. Silverback (Pre-empt the third murder attempt-- Pray for Terry Schiavo!)
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To: Joe Republc
P.S. James MacDonald gave a great sermon on abortion at

MacDonald is great. I don't listen to him every day, but every time I do, I ask myself, "Why don't I listen to this guy every day?"

24 posted on 01/16/2004 1:43:58 PM PST by Mr. Silverback (Pre-empt the third murder attempt-- Pray for Terry Schiavo!)
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To: Joe Republc
Christ Hospital’s new Comfort Room, which is complete with a First Foto machine if parents want professional pictures of their aborted baby, baptismal supplies, gowns, and certificates, foot printing equipment and baby bracelets for mementos, and a rocking chair.

No matter how nicely you decorate murder, it's still murder.

G-D keep these innocents.

25 posted on 01/16/2004 1:45:08 PM PST by Alouette (Proud parent of an IDF recruit!)
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To: Joe Republc
I've read about Jill before but had not read some of the info re photos, etc. Totally sickening. Pro-life bump!
26 posted on 01/16/2004 1:52:17 PM PST by 2nd amendment mama
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To: Mr. Silverback
Yeah, I love James MacDonald's speaking style. Informal, powerful, biblically based, great vocal dynamics, not afraid to say hard truths. He's not a 'premier' speaker yet, and gets the off-time slots on Christian radio. But he'll get there. (He might have to say 'dude' a bit less often... ;)

I download his MP3s regularly (they're free for a few days) and listen in the car.

God bless,
-- Joe
27 posted on 01/16/2004 2:00:36 PM PST by Joe Republc
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To: Joe Republc
I just became aware of this procedure thru my sister, who is an OB nurse. She was recently sent to assist in what she was told was a miscarriage (baby had died in utero & was being delivered). When she got there she found it was a mid term abortion (just like the article-induced labor) for alleged downs. A live baby, with no apparent downs, was born. The child was kept warm in the nursery until it died. Parents wanted no part of it. Father did come to see baby but refused to hold it or consider treatment. My pro-life sister was devastated. She clearly asked her employers not to include her in abortions. She ended up going to confession because she felt guilty she was not allowed to help save the baby. This is the first I had heard of such abortions. My sister told me they "hope" the baby will die from the shock of induced labor & birth. Glad to see a public airing of another dirty little secret of abortion.
28 posted on 01/16/2004 2:01:33 PM PST by Annie03 (donate at www.terrisfight.org)
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To: Budge
What has happened?... Liberalism, the disease that kills Republics by first turning them into democracies of mob rule (through vote-yourself-the-dole) by appealing to the most callous (in the name of compassion for minorities, which always translates into 'remove their incentive to compete', making them dependent and loyal) and selfish (classic ex. is the specious mantra 'a woman's right to choose' a serial killer) in human nature, that's what!
29 posted on 01/16/2004 2:29:03 PM PST by MHGinTN (If you can read this, you've had life support from someone. Promote life support for others.)
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To: Joe Republc
this artlce brought me to tears i really wish abortion was not legal ( unless rape or incest) but still ..i really wish people weren't so cruel.
30 posted on 02/26/2004 7:57:51 AM PST by shicky
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To: Joe Republc
this artlce brought me to tears i really wish abortion was not legal ( unless rape or incest) but still ..i really wish people weren't so cruel.
31 posted on 02/26/2004 7:57:51 AM PST by shicky
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To: Joe Republc
I remember her on O'Reilly, her sincere telling of the deaths of these innocents left O'Reilly speechless. I applaud O'Reilly for allowing her to expose this great evil.
32 posted on 02/26/2004 8:27:13 AM PST by pbear8 (no complaining...Thanks be to God)
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