After Tiller: two ex-abortion doctors speak out
credit: Salon
After Dr. George Tiller’s murder on Pentecost Sunday, much has been written about late-term abortion. Among the many comments are two you might not have run across, both from former abortion doctors, Bernard Nathanson and Mary L. Davenport.
Bernard Nathanson has previously been interviewed by Julia Duin, religion writer for the Washington Times, so in the wake of Dr. Tiller’s murder, she decided to re-interview Dr. Nathanson, a former abortionist who was at the heart of the pro-choice movement in the sixties and seventies:
Soon after late-term abortion doctor George Tiller was killed, I called one of his mentors, Bernard Nathanson. The former Jewish atheist who presided over 75,000 abortions - including that of his own child - in the 1960s and 1970s left the abortion industry upon the advent of ultrasound technology.
His now-classic video “The Silent Scream” shows an unborn child recoiling from a vacuum abortion device before being sucked to its death. He was baptized a Roman Catholic in late 1996, and in an interview with me then, he said he converted because he feared going to hell.
“I have such heavy moral baggage to drag into the next world,” he explained…..
“I knew George Tiller years ago when I was on the pro-abortion side. He came to a course I was giving in the technique of abortion in New York in 1970 under the auspices of NARAL. And I did late-term abortions until I changed my opinion as of 1980.
“My switch to pro-life had nothing to do with religion,” he added. “Tiller was a church-going man, which doesn’t say a whole lot in this country, but one wonders why he never changed his mind based on the scientific evidence. That is where I changed my mind, based on fetoscopies and ultrasound studies.
“Once we had ultrasound in place, we could study the fetus and see it was a member of our community. If you don’t do that, you’re just a creature of political ideology. In 1970, there were approximately 1,100 articles on the functioning of the fetus. By 1990, there were 22,000. The data piled up swiftly and opened a window into the womb…..”
Mary L. Davenport is not so familiar a name, though she is now the president elect of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
A few days ago Dr. Davenport published on the Family Research Council’s website a discourse titled Late-Term Abortions are Never Necessary.
Among her comments:
Ron Fitzsimmons, executive director of the National Coalition of Abortion Providers, shocked the general public in 1997 when he admitted that the vast majority of partial-birth abortions were performed on healthy mothers and babies.5 Contrary to the assertion of abortion rights supporters that late-term abortion is performed for serious reasons, surveys of late abortion patients confirm that the vast majority occur because of delay in diagnosis of pregnancy.6 They are done for similar reasons as early abortions: relationship problems, young or old maternal age, education or financial concerns…..7
Peggy Jarman of the Pro-Choice Action League stated that about three-fourths of Tiller’s late-term patients were teenagers who denied to themselves or their families that they were pregnant until that fact could no longer be obscured…..8
Intentional abortion for maternal health, particularly after viability, is one of the great deceptions used to justify all abortion…..
An unfortunate reality is that the legal burden for the physician is severe if all possible risks of continuing the pregnancy are not communicated to the patient. In the U.S., multi-million dollar court judgments for “wrongful life” are allowed if the patients assert that they would have had an abortion had they known a particular problem might have ensued. It is impossible to foresee and enumerate each and every possible complication. But if abortion is recommended, even with minimal or no justification, there is no legal penalty…..
Fetal problems are the other serious rationale for considering abortion, and diagnosis of these abnormalities has multiplied with the increased use of ultrasound in pregnancy. Ultrasound studies of fetal anatomy are often done at 18-20 weeks, so abortions done as a result of these scans are late abortions. But ultrasound is imperfect and analysis of the images can result in inaccurate interpretations…..
For fatal birth defects, abortion is sometimes presented as the only option. But a better alternative is perinatal hospice. This involves continuing the pregnancy until labor begins and giving birth normally, in a setting of comfort and support until natural death occurs…..
Many couples who have had abortions for birth defects suffer from adverse long-term psychological effects and prolonged grief reactions.14 Children who learn that their mothers aborted their siblings can suffer feelings of worthlessness, guilt, distrust and rage.15
There are couples who are willing to adopt children with Down syndrome or other birth defects, but genetic counselors frequently do not give patients this information…..
Although parents choosing abortion may allege that the disabled child is better off not existing, disabled adults would contest that assertion. When surveyed in numerous studies, no differences have been found between disabled and “able-bodied” people as to their satisfaction with life…..
Perhaps the most important piece of information offered by Dr. Davenport is found in her footnote #12:
A directory of pro-life maternal-fetal medicine specialists can be found on-line. Go to: <www.prolifemfm.org>. These superbly qualified physicians are eager to help women who have been advised to undergo an abortion for medical reasons or fetal birth defects.
One of our Women for Faith & Family founders has two M.D. sons, both of whom are maternal-fetal specialists.
Some of the rest of us at W.F.F. have carried through pregnancies in which our children suffered from fatal birth defects. One of us regularly writes and speaks about Karen, a Down Syndrome daughter who died at 5 months.
No regrets.
As William Blake has written, “Joy and woe are woven fine.”
Sherry Tyree, 66, a graduate of John Burroughs School and Washington University, is a founding member (1984) and Vice President of Women for Faith & Family, a national Catholic women's organization that supports and defends traditional church teachings. Sherry is married to Dr. Donald A. Tyree, professor emeritus, School of Business, St. Louis University. 
abc - Your comment is almost entirely ad hominem which belies your ultimate statement that the article is “garbage”. To translate that for you - if your conclusion is that the article is very bad, use facts and reason to discredit what was stated. And by the way, homosexuality is unhealthy - heard of the rates of molestation by homosexuals? See here for thee data - http://www.familyresearchinst.org/2009/02/child-molestation-and-homosexuality-2/.
Jane Q - See statement to abc about ad hominem argumentation. Your apparent “ordinary respect for human autonomy” is really an assertion of situational superiority. Surely you can not think killing a little baby (mind you, one created by its killer) demonstrates ordinary respect for human autonomy. Additionally, family planning involves not messing around until you are ready to be held to account for the consequences of your actions - know that we all will be eventually. Finally, your last statement about your willingness to fight is strange. The author is not telling you if/when you can procreate. She is providing some information to discredit the canard used to support the practice of late term abortions.
suzyjax - one can be culturally jewish and not believe in God, so the answer to your question is, “yes”. Further, it is not the rhetoric that causes the divide - the rhetoric reflects the divide. People’s attachment to hedonistic lives and others’ committment to put their faith into action will constitute two partisan groups with respect to this issue. Your comment, however, shows what side you are on because you apparently have the view that means get their justification by the ends. The hedonists believe the ends (in this case, elimination of responsibilities resulting from actions) justify means (abortion) that are otherwise unjustifible. The author, while I am sure hoping to change some minds, likely wrote as an expression of her faith in defending the sanctity of life. Her means are justified without resort to the ends.
“Not worth reading…extreme views…” I don’t usually see any kind of scientific debate among the “pro choice” folks. Usually a lot of name calling and character assassination. It really IS difficult to argue with ultrasound, etc., isn’t it? That “blob of tissue” shows up in living color as a human being. I remember when these folks were still describing the baby as going through the “fish stage”, etc., as an evolutionary process. They can’t even preesent that argument any more because they get laughed out of the room. Now they present it as a “woman’s right to choose.” They don’t say it is a right to choose to kill a human being. Thank you for this article. It was well done and informative.
Some of the comments are obviously by cold, dark hearted, spiritually dead, and blind people..BTW…Without being born of God, ‘born again’ by His spirit through Jesus Christ, you will continue to be a walking dead, born of the flesh only, empty self centered, in need of Christ, enemy of God…
I thought the columnist was a good and faithful servant with the information that was entrusted to her…Too many are double minded and unstable in all their ways..The truth is that if all people were honest and they would quit ignoring their consciences, they would be able see the plain common sense truth that all abortion is murder..plain and simple….When these people stand in front of God (and they will!), their consciences will be a thousand wittnesses against them..it will NOT lie!!
Job 31:15 Did not He that made me in the womb make him? and did not One fashion us in the womb?
Jer 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
Isa 44:24 Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, and He that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by Myself;
Psa 14:1 ….The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
Psa 14:2 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
Psa 14:3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
I’d love to see this article splashed across front page headlines…..maybe then some with reason would concede their irrational position of murdering babies was false. I for one am spreading the word. Excellent article and resources.
abortion is expressly prohibited in the preamble to the constitution… The preamble dictates who the constitution is for… It is for We the people and our POSTERITY….. and it is to insure liberty for both we the people and our POSTERITY….. If our POSTERITY do not first have live then how in the world can they have liberty and freedom…… Oh but I realize the constitution is just a bumbling, stumbling document that is in the way of certain people and their anti-human, anti-american, anti-freedom agendas….. Please read the preamble and please define posterity and then review your agenda compared to the definition and the constitution……
Based on your thinking then it would be better for all young souls to be aborted, murdered, and killed before the age of accountability….. We who do the killing or allow the killing should just ask for forgiveness when we are done so we get into heaven. If you no anything about the pagan rituals in the Old Testament the Israelites were practicing Moleck worship which required the murder of little babies… All through scripture God punished peoples and nations that did this type of idolatry.. (As well as other types). Don’t be fooled God will judge this atrocity.
All individuals are made in the image of God…. When you look on another person you are gazing on His image… That is why murder is wrong and that is why Satan loves it.. When he can get one of those made in the image of God to kill another who is made in the image of God then he has helped one person harden his/her heart a little more and help them on their way to hell. He has also gotten rid of the other image and that person may be in hell or may be in heaven. Satan hates God and he hates us and the more of those made in the image of God he can help go to hell the more satisfied he is in fulfilling his sick agenda… I am going to be very blunt but I do not mean to be hurtful. If a person has committed a sin and truly repents then Gods forgiveness, grace, and mercy are given. But if a person condones sinful behavior, and plays loose with Gods mercies then that person is out of fellowship with God, is not a Christian, and is on his or her way to hell…. Only through repentance can we have a right relationship with God…. You can not approve of pornography and be a Christian (my personal trap). You can not approve of homosexual behavior and be a Christian; you can not condone abortion and be a Christian.
Excellent article! The columnist presented views that are hardly ever heard in our pro-liberally biased culture, and she seeks to inform the public more completely about the alternative side of the issue… something the propaganda and indoctrination-mongers would never do.
The article, asking if late-term abortion is ever necessary is from a fully-credentialed doctor, regardless of political or religious affiliation. Unlike what the innuendo of the liberal agenda presupposes, the political and religious right are less about conspiracy theories, and more about a fair and balanced coverage of another side to the issues. And, I’d like to add that, if you poke around Hygeia’s disclaimer for a couple of seconds, you’ll see that they think homosexual sex is unhealthy, and abstinence really is the best kind of prevention. But what do they know? They only make prophylactics! Clearly, unlike the mindless propaganda of the left, this work is well-researched… and, unlike liberal pieces, in which the term “research” is loosely used and lightly applied, this piece makes no presuppositions.
I can’t believe certain commentators on this site can stand to type anti-intelligence propaganda, and call it a “discussion”. Unlike their poorly-researched and unintelligent rantings, this is definitely NOT garbage.
Then again, we all have the right to freedom of speech, expression, press, ASSEMBLY, and RELIGION. Happy Independence Day!
Oh how the proaborts squeal when pinched by truth. But Suzyjax is correct: “Fact is, you aren’t going to change many minds…Either people are pro-choice or not…nothing anyone writes is probably going to change anyone’s opinion.” Nothing, that is, until a national ground-swell of individual and public conviction views abortion as murder of the innocent. But we are on our way to the “Brave New World.” No time to stop and reconsider. By the way, proaborts, what’s your favorite method of doing baby in? I mean, since baby is not a “person” and has no rights, you should be willing to share? Right?
Karen Sharp,
There isn’t one thing irrational about recognizing the reality that we live in a fallen world and that you will never ever succeed in your attempts to legislate Christian morality.
By the way, if there were any chance that aborted babies had no certainty of salvation, I would agree with your movement.
Furthermore, it appear that “Pro-Lifers” such as you do not truly believe the Word of God, nor do it appear that most of you Pro-Lifers” are in agreement with what we are suppose to accept as the Word of God.
You state:
“Every choice we make in life has its consequences. If we take away the consequences, we end up with an immature, irresponsible citizenry that justifies manslaughter for convenience.”
Seriously, what sense are you making by this statement? You make very little sense with such a statement and belief but for some reason, you are blind to that fact. If every choice we make have consequences, how do you suppose consequences can be taken away unless you are as I suspect, one with very little faith in what God’s Word actually teach us about sin. This is the problem with most Pro-Lifers that I have noticed, you can talk the talk real and not even very well, but as far as living it, most all that I have seen fall extremely short of it to the point of being meaningless for the purposes of carrying out your Christian duties to be God’s bodies on the earth to help expand His family and Kingdom to come.
constitution,
I don’t condone abortion, I don’t condone sin. I just recognize that you “Pro-Lifers” are wasting your time doing thing YOUR WAY and that it goes against everything that Scripture instructs of us as our duty as Christians.