Behind the Scenes: Picturing Fetal Remains

The New York Times ^ | 10-09-09 | Damien Cave

[mlizzy]

[There are no graphic images in the article proper. They are accessed through a slide show only.]

The photographs are graphic and detailed, showing the fingers or toes of aborted fetuses whose entire frames are no bigger than a cellphone. Since the mid-1990s, they have appeared all over the country — carried as posters by protesters, handed out with pamphlets or, in some cases, mounted like billboards on the sides of trucks.

Like many others, I often wondered about the source of these images. Who took the pictures? Where did the fetuses come from?

I had a chance to find some answers while reporting in late September on the death of James Pouillon, the anti-abortion protester who was shot and killed in Owosso, Mich. [See Saturday's presentation on the subject in The New York Times.]

[MHGinTN]

So far, mercifully, no one has posted the images ont he thread.

I once had a hate-filled female tell me that the images are proof of successful exercise of women's rights ... such spiritual deadness is impossible to penetrate with love or tolerance.

[Vendome]

Is this something that is going to be upsetting? I just woke up and feel like going back to bed and your title suggests some rather disturbing pictures.

I already a little baby body parts post last month and was sickened, cried and nauseated.

If it is something different then, that isn’t going to make me ill, I will click through.

Let me know thanks.

[longhorn too]

I don’t think anything makes our LORD more sorrowful than this hideous act against our most innocent. May God use her work to his Glory.

[alrea]

"Choice. The Democratic Party stands behind the right of every woman to choose, consistent with Roe v. Wade, and regardless of ability to pay. President Clinton took executive action to make sure that the right to make such decisions is protected for all Americans. Over the last four years, we have taken action to end the gag rule and ensure safety at family planning and women's health clinics. We believe it is a fundamental constitutional liberty that individual Americans -- not government -- can best take responsibility for making the most difficult and intensely personal decisions regarding reproduction. The Democratic Party is a party of inclusion. We respect the individual conscience of each American on this difficult issue, and we welcome all our members to participate at every level of our party.

1996 Democratic Party National Platform

[cpforlife.org]

“America Will Not Reject Abortion Until America Sees Abortion”
Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director, Priests for Life.

I firmly believe that Fr. Frank is correct.

Please watch the video available on-line called Hard Truth at Abortion Videos . It is perhaps the most powerful film ever produced on abortion. Actual footage of living, in-utero children and their aborted peers tell the hard truth about abortion in ways "just words" never will. Hard Truth packs such unprecedented power that viewers can scarcely watch without being profoundly affected. In total, the film is only nine minutes long, and except for the introduction, there is no narration.

Then go to http://www.priestsforlife.org/resources/abortionimages/index.htm , and see the horrible reality of abortion via color photographs.

I also highly recommend reading Abortion: the Silent Holocaust. It was written by Fr. John Powell, S.J. (Click on “abortion: books” then scroll.) I believe it is one of the most important books on the subject ever written. This book has overwhelming importance for readers from high-school age onward, as well as adult study. The author speaks directly to the reader as few writers can. He takes you along his personal journeys from his studies in Germany and tour of the death camp in Dachau, through his work in the pro-life movement.

Comprehensive education of adults, and more importantly school students, is
THE MISSING KEY OF THE PRO-LIFE MOVEMENT

Ignorance is the greatest weapon of the pro-abortion side.

[Salvation]

A Pro-Life Prayer For Our President And Public Officials

Lord God, Author of Life and Source of Eternal Life,

Move the hearts of all our public officials and especially our President, to fulfill their responsibilities worthily and well to all those entrusted to their care.

Help them in their special leadership roles, to extend the mantle of protection to the most vulnerable, especially the defenseless unborn, whose lives are threatened with extermination by an indifferent society.

Guide all public officials by your wisdom and grace to cease supporting any law that fails to protect the fundamental good that is human life itself, which is a gift from God and parents.

You are the Protector and Defender of the lives of the innocent unborn. Change the hearts of those who compromise the call to protect and defend life. Bring our nation to the values that have made us a great nation, a society that upholds the values of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all.

Mary, the Mother of the living, help us to bear witness to the Gospel of Life with our lives and our laws, through Christ, Our Lord.

Amen.

 

• Imprimatur:
• January 22, 2009
• Most Reverend Robert J. Baker
• Bishop of Birmingham in Alabama

[mlizzy]

You can NOT justify the killing of innocents by pretending to know their fate. Most abortions in America are the result of selfishness, not poverty. They are a result of a culture with no sense of consequence, which promotes no sense of responsiblity. Those pretending that late term abortions are rare, NEVER advocate for outlawing them. Nobody presenting the bleeding heart arguments for abortion are willing to restrict abortion to those narrow circumstances.

Very good comment! I hope it is approved.

[eleni121]

The photos may cause an awakening in a few pro aborts...but not many.

At this point we can pray of course but becoming pro life goes beyond acceptance of life. It has become a political issue whose dimensions go well beyond sanctity of life.

[Salvation]

Priests for Life Resources

Click here to see the images of aborted babies

[mlizzy]

The photos may cause an awakening in a few pro aborts...but not many. At this point we can pray of course but becoming pro life goes beyond acceptance of life. It has become a political issue whose dimensions go well beyond sanctity of life.

Do you know of Fr. Euteneuer? Here is what he had to say regarding abortion not too long ago:

“We are reminded that even supposed political victories are temporary, and that the solution to these problems is not political, even if we have to keep up the political fight and our activist efforts,” said Father Euteneuer. “We are called to prayer, fasting and conversion… only God can put a stop to the horror of abortion now.”

[SkyPilot]

The comments to this article on the NY Slimes site are pathetic and evil:

___________________________________________________________________

She, and all of those not in favor of abortion, have a right to their view. They DO NOT have a right to tell me what to believe, or what to do, especially regarding actions that ARE LEGAL. I respect your right, but you do not respect mine, and therefore what you are doing, in my mind, is legally and morally repugnant and wrong. — Charles Swanson

_________________________________________________________________________

By that twisted logic, I could break into Charles Swanson's home, cut off his fingers, rape his wife, and steal his goods. And hey! Who is HE to tell me it is wrong!

It is Almighty God who makes the Law. His word is Truth. To believe that the likes of Ruth Bader Ginsberg's atheist and contorted rulings and writings trump God is ridiculous.

God said:

You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them."

Psalm 139:13-16

"The word of the Lord came to [Jeremiah], saying:
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
Before you were born I sanctified you."

Jeremiah 1:4-5

These people are going to unleash God's righteous anger on themselves for what they have done, and what they advocate.

The blood of the slaughtered innocent cries out from the ground, and God has heard it.

[reagan_fanatic]

God help us all.

[cpforlife.org]

"Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me!"

Back in the 1960's before Planned Parenthood realized that using scientific truths in its literature would lessen its revenue, it was halfway honest.

A 1963 Planned Parenthood brochure actually says "An abortion kills the life of a baby after it has begun." That's something we pro-lifers didn't start saying en mass until years later!

A book from 1969 reviewed below states: '... at least one [sperm] will reach the egg, fertilize it, and conception will take place. A new life will begin.'

Eventually Planned Barrenhood saw that for their industry of death to maximize profits, truth would not be their "best policy".

"Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me!"

While the words won't, the deceitful manipulation and misapplication of words in law has been the greatest cause of death in history.

Pro-Choice Advocates Agree that Abortion Kills Humans.

Many abortion advocates have agreed that abortion kills human life: A 1963 Planned Parenthood brochure says that life begins at conception: "An abortion kills the life of a baby after it has begun."{01} Former Planned Parenthood President Faye Wattleton admits that the preborn are alive in her 1986 book:

"There are many sperm cells in the [seminal] fluid. If one of them meets an egg cell inside the mother, new life can begin to grow... If one of your friends is pregnant, ask her to let your child 'feel the baby move.' ... A baby grows in a special place inside the mother, called the uterus -- not in her stomach. In nine months it is born."{02}

Similarly, Dr. Mary Calderone, former director of Planned Parenthood has stated that "[a]bortion is the taking of a human life"{03} and Dr. Alan Guttmacher,{04} former president of Planned Parenthood and founder of the Guttmacher Institute, the research affiliate of Planned Parenthood, has stated "[f]ertilization has then taken place; a baby has been conceived."{05} {06} While many abortion defenders readily concede that abortion kills human life, it is necessary to expound on this point because examining the nature of the unborn human being at the point of conception shows the inherent dignity that we all share from our biologic beginnings that are hidden from eyes of the world.

Not only have representatives from the nations largest abortion provider agreed that life begins at conception, but others who support abortion have agreed that abortion is murder. Dr. Magda Denes who performed two years of research in an abortion facility and compiled her results{07} told a Chicago newspaper "There wasn't an (abortion) doctor who at one time or another in the questioning did not say `this is murder.'"{08} Even Kate Michelman, President of N.AR.A.L. seems to be moving in the direction of agreeing that abortion is murder by her statement that "[a]bortion is a bad thing."{09} Others who have at one time been heavily involved with abortion have later agreed, such as "Jane Roe" Norma McCorvey, Dr. Bernard Nathanson, and Carol Everett.

In addition, everyone who uses the term "fetus" unwittingly acknowledges that the unborn human is an unborn child because fetus is Latin for "unborn child." Unfortunately for the unborn child, the term fetus has fallen into use as a way of dehumanizing the unborn child, as shown by the primary use of this term by people when they are arguing for abortion rights, in comparison to when they are discussing a baby that is wanted by the mother.

Planned Parenthood admits: Life begins at conception

IN THE 1960'S, the terminology of medical texts had not yet been changed to dehumanize life in the womb. (The pregnant woman was "the mother" and the fetus was "the child" or "baby.")  The legal and political system had not yet corrupted the scientific realities of life before birth.

In 1969 McGraw-Hill Inc. was publishing a book on Conception, Birth and Contraception and needed some input from an authority on the subject. It turned to Planned Parenthood and the Sex Information & Education Council of the United States (SIECUS).

"This book provides a solid base for understanding the anatomy of reproduction," wrote Mary S. Calderone, MD, Executive Director of SIECUS, in her Introduction to the 129-page book. "Access to such fine books as this one will assure our young people that ... finally adults are becoming willing to 'tell it like it is.'"

Similarly, "Dr. George Langmyhr of Planned Parenthood Federation of America ... reviewed the material on contraception," state authors Robert J. Demarest and John J. Sciarra, MD, PhD, in their Foreword.

Within the pages of Conception, Birth and Contraception, however, the pro-life position is presented with pictorial and verbal accuracy. The book clearly pushes contraceptives, with some faulty information on the safety of the IUD, etc., but the personhood of the unborn is fully supported throughout the text.

In fact, the book's own glossary definition of the term "fetus" begins with: "An unborn child." Pregnancy, likewise, is defined as: "The condition of being with child."

In the aftermath of Roe v. Wade, of course, today's Planned Parenthood -- largest abortion provider in the world -- would never admit that life begins at conception, or depict the infant in utero, in full-page illustrations, as a person. To do so, would suggest not only a violation of rights, but even murder, in the diabolical Roe v. Wade decision.

No doubt today's SIECUS, as well, would attempt to discredit the pro-life (factual) content of this "fine book" which it's leader in 1969 described so positively.

Some excerpts

Following are some excerpts from the book, approved by Planned Parenthood and SIECUS four years before the legalization of abortion:

"... at least one [sperm] will reach the egg, fertilize it, and conception will take place. A new life will begin." (page 15)

"... the egg which, if fertilized, gives rise to a new life." (page 3)

"From fertilization to delivery, mother and child are as one for approximately 266 days. At the end of the period the mother delivers the infant into the world ..." (page 3)

"It is the female who carries the baby during the nine months of its prenatal life." (page 17)

"However small it may be, the egg is about two thousand times as large as the sperm that must fertilize it. ...it carries the food the growing embryo will use during the first few days of its life." (page 26)

"... to grow within the mother." (page 32)

"The inherited characteristics of the baby to be born ... are determined by material within the egg and sperm ... each mature egg contains genetic material carrying the inheritable characteristics of the mother ... the child receives inherited characteristics from both parents." (page 50)

"The placenta ... transfers nourishment from the mother ...." (page 53)

"... ectopic pregnanc[ies] ... are dangerous to the mother and provide no possibility of a live child." (page 53)

"The growth of the baby within the uterus takes nine calendar months." (page 57)

"The sex ... could also be determined by examining under a microscope cells which are present in the amniotic fluid ... however, the doctor would have to puncture the amniotic cavity. This procedure is not undertaken except under very unusual circumstances having to do with the baby's health. So until the baby is delivered, no one knows whether it is a boy or a girl." (page 61)

"... the bloodstreams of mother and fetus ... never touch, and the blood in each remains separate. Oxygen and nutrients pass through the placenta, from the bloodstream of the mother to the fetus, and waste products from the fetus pass in the reverse direction into the bloodstream of the mother." (page 64) [i.e., the fetus is not part of the mother's body]

"... a doctor examining the mother can hear the fetal heartbeat ... The mother can feel the movement ... its arms and legs ..." (page 65)

"... the doctor may perform an operation called a cesarean section and remove the baby ..." (page 68)

".. its head is well down in the pelvic area of the mother -- the ideal position for it when the birth process begins." (page 68)

"The new life that has been growing within the mother for approximately nine months is now ready to enter the world. The passage of the baby through the birth canal is called delivery, and the process by which this is accomplished by the mother is called labor... Occasionally, a baby is born before thirty-eight weeks ... and the baby's chance of survival depends upon its weight and state of development at birth. When it is time for delivery, the mother begins to experience uterine contractions.... felt by the mother in her back ..." (page 72)

 

{01}Plan Your Children (Planned Parenthood, 1963).  (The pamphlet also informs the reader that "[abortion] is dangerous to your life and health. it may make you sterile, so that when you want a child you cannot have it ... [in comparison] [b]irth control merely postpones the beginning of life.").

 

{02}Faye Wattleton, How to Talk with Your Child About Sexuality 95 (1986).

 

{03}Dr. Mary Calderone, Illegal Abortion as a Public Health Problem, 50 American Journal of Public Health 7, 951 (1960). ("..when a woman seeking abortion is given the chance of talking over her problem with a properly trained and oriented person, she will in the process very often resolve many of her qualms and will spontaneously decide to see her prenancy through... so I am not for abortion...")

 

{04}Katherine S. O'Keefe, Crypto-Eugenics: The Hidden Agenda of Planned Parenthood Appendix B (1991). Katharine S. O'Keefe, American Eugenics Society 1922-1994 (rev. Dec. 8, 1993, ver. 6.8). Director, American Eugenics Society, 1955; V.P. 1956-63; Director 1964-66 MD; d. Mar. 18, 1974; President, Planned Parenthood Federation of America 1962-1974; Mount Sinai New York 1952-66 (Director of Obstetrics 1952-62; Director Emeritus 1962-); Association for the Study of Abortion; C.m., Lanker Committee 1961; Founder, American Association of Planned Parenthood Physicians 1963; International Planned Parenthood Federation (Management and Planning Committee (196263, 1964); Medical Committee, (1961-62, C.m..., 1964-68); Regional representative, Western Hemisphere (1962-63, 1964); Council 196162; consultant, IPPF medical publications and IPPF newsletter when Dorothy Brush was editor 1952-56; Western Hemisphere Regional Council 1955); in 1968 IPPF was assigned to assist the government of Botswana in developing family planning following visits by A. Guttmacher according to ARTW, Dec. 1968.

 

{05}Birth Control and Love: The Complete Guide to Contraception and Fertility 12 (1961) quoted in Stephen M. Krason, Abortion: Politics, Morality, and the Constitution : A Critical Study of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton and a Basis for Change 445 (1984).

 

{06}Planning Your Family 16 (1964).

 

{07}In Necessity and Sorrow: Life and Death in an Abortion Hospital (1976).

 

{08}Daily News, Oct. 22, 1976.

 

{09}Philadelphia Enquirer, Dec. 11, 1993.

Internet Sources for this article:

Planned Parenthood, SIECUS admit Life begins at conception (by Diane Dew)

The Public Policy of Casey v. Planned Parenthood By Michael G. Smith

Chapter 3 The Casey Court and the Reliance on Murder

[eleni121]

NOW I do. And obviously I agree with the good father.

We have gone way beyond change and redemption. We stand at the edge staring into the void.

[houeto]

What is in the shadow?

[pillut48]

What do the comments say? I’m not brave enough to access the article (having had several iscarriages of much wanted babies).

Praying daily that God will end this holocaust of preborn humans soon!

[pillut48]

What do the comments say? I’m not brave enough to access the article (having had several miscarriages of much wanted babies).

Praying daily that God will end this holocaust of preborn humans soon!

[seoul62]

I once saw late at night a former abortionist show in detail what an abortion look like. It gave me nights of nightmares, waking up screaming.

[Tribune7]

bump

[mlizzy]

What is in the shadow?


Jericho March, Aurora, IL, 09-15-07

When I was working with the photo online, my teenage daughter looked at me a bit surprised, and said, "Mom, do you see anything in the shadow?" I looked at it over and over, and really wasn't sure what I was looking at, although it did look like something was "there." After about an hour or so, I saw a baby -- a fetus -- perfectly tethered (like a criminal) to the "l" in the word Planned where I envisioned the blood being sucked out of the child through Planned Parenthood. The young girl holding the sign even has her left hand at the point of the neck one would hold to cradle the child safely. That's what I see in the photo. (The picture is not photoshopped.)