Louise Adsett has worked as a midwife in the Australian state of Queensland for 14 years, during which time she saw abortion survivors left alone to die for up to five hours. “These babies deserve better. They deserve to have the same rights that all of us human beings have”, said a tearful Adsett.
This week, Ms Adsett provided evidence to a state parliamentary inquiry regarding the Termination of Pregnancy (Live Births) Amendment Bill 2024 – seeking to provide legal protection for babies born alive post-abortion, as is already the case in South Australia and New South Wales.
Ms Adsett noted an increase in late-term abortions at the Brisbane hospital where she works, though many were born alive and left to die.
“We’ve had babies born alive after terminations [abortions] from 15 to 22 weeks, born alive, gasping for air, moving and having a palpable heart rate – fighting for their lives as we as humans are designed to do”, Ms Adsett told the inquiry.
“Sometimes babies born alive after an abortion are put into witches’ hats and are covered, taken out of the room and die while in that witches’ hat”, she continued.
“This is distressing to many of the midwives as they are unable to provide any medical care for the baby but are limited to providing comfort care only, which is merely wrapping and holding the baby.”
Ms Adsett recalled the case of a “21-plus weeks’ gestation” baby boy weighing over 400 grams and “gasping for breath”, and he “fought for his life for five hours before taking his final breath. This is not an uncommon occurrence.”
The inquiry also heard that 328 babies born alive had been left to die without intervention between 2010 and 2020 in Queensland.
We must expose this glaring injustice, says SPUC
Daniel Frampton, SPUC’s Editorial Officer, said: “It was reported in 2012 that 66 babies survived so-called ‘botched abortions’ carried out by the NHS; of these infants, around half lived for an hour after being left to die, while one baby lived for ten hours.
“The instances of abortion survivors left to die are more common than the pro-abortion mainstream media reports, and in the UK, the data on such cases is ‘not held centrally’ by the Department of Health.
“Such indifference underscores the point that even the pro-abortion lobby knows how sickening and morally unacceptable these deaths are. The unwillingness to admit to this horrific reality is part of the inherent brutality of abortion, in action and ethic, which can only deal with death, not life.
“This is just one reason why SPUC exists, to expose abortion for what it really is, as well as advocate the right to life of all children. The treatment of abortion survivors says as much about our society as any other injustice, and this cannot be allowed to continue.”