Claire Culwell was 21 when she discovered that she survived the abortion which was intended to kill her. “They don’t care about my right as a woman, as an unborn woman, about my right to choose. Because I definitely would not have chosen to be aborted”, she said.
Claire’s testimony has highlighted the need for more information to be released regarding failed abortions, SPUC says.
SPUC Director of Communications and Campaigns, Michael Robinson said: “The statistics and stories which are now coming to light, point towards the disturbing realisation that far more children may be surviving these attacks on their life than previously thought.”
“If children are being born alive after a failed abortion attempt on their life, society deserves more information and the truth”.
Claire’s biological mother underwent a dilation and evacuation (D&E) abortion when she was 20 weeks pregnant. Healthcare professionals later told her she had been pregnant with twins and only one had been ‘successfully’ aborted. Claire was then born just weeks later.
In a passionate defence of the rights of unborn children, Claire said: “I definitely would not have chosen for my twin to be aborted, and for my life, my entire life, I will walk this earth as an abortion survivor when I didn’t have to. Because if my rights had been taken into consideration, I would have chosen to live”.
Disturbing US data now exposed
In August 2019, SPUC reported on the number of failed abortions now occurring.
Figures released in August exposed that at least 40 babies were born alive after failed abortion attempts between 2016 and 2018 across three American States.
The US Government’s Centres for Disease Control, (CDC), believe that at least 143 babies were born alive after failed abortion attempts in the USA between 2003 and 2014. Research compiled by the American Center for Law and Justice, suggests that figure to be much higher, estimating that there have been 362 US abortion survivors between 2001-2010.
Abortion survivors in the United Kingdom
Whilst there are few official records in the United Kingdom that document born-alive abortion survivors, the recent data emerging from the USA, combined with the surfacing testimonies of abortion-survival in the United Kingdom, leads SPUC to believe that this issue requires more investigation.
In September 2018, the UK witnessed the story of Mohammed Khan, who was intended to be killed at 25 weeks’ gestation by an abortion in which he was injected with lethal poison. Mohammed was born alive only to die later in the arms of his mother. Similarly, three year-old Scottish boy, Jack Harper, was intended to be killed by a vacuum aspiration abortion, yet survived the procedure and was born alive.
Any reader in the UK who is an abortion survivor, or who knows an abortion survivor, and would like help or support please contact SPUC confidentially on 020 7091 7091.