An Irish doctor described being “sick out in the corridors” after performing a late term abortion, according to a new study on the impact of late term abortion on doctors in Ireland under the new abortion law. Michael Robinson, SPUC Director of Communications said: Killing tiny defenceless humans is an act of utter barbarity and would make anyone ill.”
The study was based on interviews with ten foetal medicine specialists, who have been performing late term abortions in Ireland. The doctors called the procedure “brutal”, “awful” and “emotionally difficult”.
The study has described how late term abortion remains a conflicting issue within the medical community.
The doctors performing the abortions have faced “widespread opposition” from their colleagues, especially from neonatologists who care for newborn babies.
One doctor described the late term abortion procedure as “stabbing the baby in the heart.”
Another doctor in the study said: “I remember getting sick out in the corridors afterwards because I thought it was such an awful procedure and so dreadful.”
Inhumane and brutal
During some late term abortions, a lethal injection of potassium chloride into the unborn baby’s heart is administered which causes the baby to go into cardiac arrest and die.
SPUC’s Mr Robinson said: “It has been reported that administering potassium chloride is so excruciating that both the American Veterinary Medical Association and the authorities in charge of USA executions consider it necessary to give an anaesthetic first to avoid pain or suffering. It is disgusting that the tiniest and most vulnerable humans amongst us are treated in this inhumane and brutal way.”
The Irish abortion regime came into force in 2018. In Ireland abortion can be carried out until the 12 week of pregnancy and then until birth if the mother’s life is thought to be at risk or the unborn baby has a foetal anomaly.
Late term abortion in Britain
In 2019, SPUC reported on the rise of late term abortions in Britain.
In a parliamentary question, Sir John Hayes MP asked the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care how many abortions were performed after 20 weeks gestation during the last five years.
The answer revealed that the number rose by 30% from 2013. Over 15,000 unborn babies in Britain have been killed during this stage of development during the last five years.
SPUC’s Mr Robinson added: “At 20 weeks gestation an unborn baby has long since had a functioning brain and a beating heart. He or she will be about 20cm long from crown to rump and weigh nearly 500g. A baby at this age will also react to painful stimuli. These are defenceless human lives which we have a duty to protect.
“Abortion is an abhorrent practice which has no place in a so-called civilised society.”