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. 
jacqueline_g,
Explain to us in spiritual terms through God’s Word, how you see abortion as the modern-day slavery issue because throwing around sayings and cliché’s are utterly immature and does no one any good.
Also, explain if you can what “LIFE” really is according to God’s Word?
If only you and some other “Pro-Lifers” truly understood that TRUTH. Maybe then you and others could truly become useful to God and equipped to carry out His commands and instructions upon this earth. No doubt we would witness many Christians with genuine faith where the world would also witness this because it would become apparent by the actions, behavior and thoughts witnessed in Christians.
Amazing. This article is right on the money. Since the advent of the ultrasound, you cannot deny that it is a human child being carried in the womb. Yet groups like NARAL, NOW and Planned Parenthood still expect us to believe that it’s just a blob of tissue, nothing more than a tumor, on the wall of the uterus. Anyone who has an ounce of common sense and a shred of decency in their soul cannot say that it is not a child. Abortion is rarely needed for the health of the mother. It is a barbaric procedure and it kills a human child. As a family counselor, I have seen the majority of women who have abortions suffer post traumatic stress, especially when they get pregnant, plan to keep the baby and then see the ultrasound. It is exceptionally tragic when women cannot get pregnant after having abortions, and the guilt they feel is horrific. When children find out that their mother has had an abortion, it is devastating to them. Knowing that they too could have been sucked out of their mother’s womb at some point and time raises feelings of distrust, fear and hatred. The African American population has dropped considerably due to abortion. Their increasing population rate in the US is .9%. Margaret Sanger must be proud, since she was a Nazi sympathizer and a racist who wanted abortion made legal to stop the influx of African Americans, Hispanics and Jews in this country. Abortion is detrimental to the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health of all women. It is America’s own holocaust, and we are suffering the consequences of this ”choice”.
melissa,TX
You state:
œOnce 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.”
Human communities consists of a group of people living in the same locality and same environment and government and sometimes with the same intent, beliefs, sharing the same resources, having the same preferences, needs and sharing in many of the same risks. Many other conditions may be common and present that cause that community’s identity.
Now, please explain to us exactly how you are able to consider a fetus as a member of “our” community? That may be true within some church family communities and even some other communities but how can you actually state such to apply to everyone’s community? Not even all born are truly part of a community because to be truly part of a community, one must be welcomed into it to be frank and truthful. I just wish people would face reality and what is true, but especially concerning the Word of God as written within the Christian faith.
This is to ABC. I can tell from your tone that you are a 21st century progressive thinker. In this age, according to you and other secularist progressives, anything goes. As this disturbing ideology spreads, we may soon witness more assisted suicide. This, of course is legal in two states. If our esteemed and exalted president is allowed to grow in power and force his idea of health care on us, we may even witness worse atrocities. This culture is on the brink of a very rude awakening.
Interruption of pregnancy for any reason, abortion or miscarriage, can have serious physical consequences for the mother, including death. There is an increased risk of breast cancer and female organ cancers in those who have aborted or miscarried a baby. I have found doing things the Biblical way is always the best way.
abortion = infanticide regardless of the euphamisms employed by the anti-life (i.e., pro-choice… another euphamism) crowd. Jane Q., here is an even more novel idea: If you don’t kill innocent unborn babies then God Almighty won’t punish you in Hell forever and ever.
D. Walker…
According to God’s word, spiritual ”LIFE” is being joined in God’s presence and spiritual ”death” is eternal separation from God (i.e., suffering eternally in Hell). Likewise, carnal ”LIFE” is the physical joining of soul, spirit, and body and carnal ”death” is the separation of the soul & spirit from the body. Very easy.
Now, when a child is conceived in the womb, God instantly inserts a soul & spirit into the child’s body and life has begun! It will be a ”LIFE” until the soul & spirit separate which is death.
Bravo ! The truth hurts…but death hurts more. Save your child…& save your sanity ! Adoption not abortion. Or better yet, keep your legs closed until you’re married to a good man. You can do it !!!
well abc your indoctrinization to ubhealthiness is showing. Extreme views is saving a child? Extreme views is that abomination is acceptable such as homosexuality? If it were natural, they could have children and keep their lineage going. Its all choice, despite many lies about differences in brain formation…written by a homosexual and later denied as a viable fact by that same person. The sad part is in life there are absolutes. The world of relativism is a sad and mixed up world that leaves most people broken. are you afraid to put your name to your little objection? I am not.
Dennis Thompson
One person posted that pro choicers only give abortion as an option. I will say, from personal experience, that Planned Parenthood gave me “counseling” when I was 17 faced with a crisis pregnancy. The counseling included telling me the 12 week old fetus was “tissue”. I was never offered an ultrasound to be able to see a perfectly formed human being, my child. I was terrified my parents would find out, and with the liberal laws in the late 80’s, no parental consent was needed. With $250 in hand, my “secret” was safe, said Planned Parenthood. Now, I’m not getting into all the pain, regret, shame, etc. in this blog. I will end by saying to pro choice women, please STOP saying things like “we’re protecting women’s rights.” You’re not. You’re not protecting women like yourself, you’re enabling 16 and 17 year old GIRLS to make a choice that will affect them forever. And I’m tired of hearing “well I wouldn’t do it personally, but it’s not my business to tell someone else what to do with their body.” Nope, cop out. If YOU wouldn’t do it, why would you fight so hard to let other girls & women do it. Certainly this is not a legal issue, it’s a heart issue. I think of my dad, who I’m sure is pro-choice. What would he have thought knowing his 17 year old daughter went to have an abortion without him even knowing? A grandchild he never got to know…Terribly sad. Best book on this topic is “Why Pro Life” by Randy Alcorn. Gives rational answers as to why people are pro life. (for example why can you abort your baby but if the baby’s father killed a pregnant woman, he would be charged with double homicide. Does the fetus have rights, or not?)