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One baby in 30 left alive after medical termination
Last updated at 23:52pm on 19.04.07
Gianna Jessen: Born after a failed abortion
One in 30 babies aborted for medical reasons is born alive, a study has found.
They lived for an average of 80 minutes - although in some cases foetuses survived for over six hours.
Most of the babies were born between 20 and 24 weeks of pregnancy, but some had been in the womb for as little as 17 weeks.
The figures, based on a study of West Midlands hospitals, has reignited the abortion debate, with pro-life campaigners demanding the time limit for terminations be cut.
Researchers looked at the outcome of 3,189 abortions performed on seriously handicapped foetuses at 20 hospitals between 1995 and 2004.
It showed that 102 - or around one in 30 - aborted for reasons such as Down's Syndrome and heart defects, were born alive.
Abortions are allowed to be carried out if the pregnancy is shown to have an adverse effect on the mental health and wellbeing of the mother up until the 24th week of pregnancy.
Beyond this point, the procedure is only sanctioned if the baby has a severe disability or if the mother's life is at risk.
The latest study, carried out by experts from the West Midlands Perinatal Institute and published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, showed that three per cent of aborted disabled babies were born alive.
Most of the abortions studied were medical abortions. These involve a women being given a series of pills, taken in two doses two days apart.
The first dose, a single tablet of mifepristone, blocks the pregnancy hormones that normally ensure the womb's lining holds on to the fertilised egg. The second dose, of four tablets containing hormone-like prostaglandins, triggers contractions and a miscarriage.
The death of the baby is a result of the trauma of the early birth, rather than the tablets itself, meaning, in rare occasions, some babies may survive the process.
From 22 weeks, the tablets should be preceded by a lethal injection into the baby's heart to ensure the baby is dead before the procedure goes any further.
If these babies are born alive, it suggests they weren't given the heart-stopping injection - perhaps because the doctor thought it would have been too traumatic for the mother. The figures follow several studies which show that babies born at 23 and 24 weeks are capable of surviving.
While there is no suggestion that any of the babies documented in the West Midlands study lived for more than a few hours, doctors in Norwich are currently treating a toddler born at 24 weeks after three botched terminations.
He was born three years ago and is still alive.
Campaigners said it was likely the Midlands figures were just the tip of the iceberg as the region only accounts for around a tenth of the babies born in the country each year.
In addition, the study only looked at babies whose lives were ended because of disability.
However, most abortions are carried out on 'healthy' babies for social reasons. Julia Millington of the pro-life group Alive and Kicking said: "This can't just be happening in the West Midlands.
"It begs the question of how many healthy babies must be surviving? It would suggest the true figure must be much higher.
"With live births after abortion occurring in 18 out of the 20 maternity units in the West Midlands alone, it is difficult to comprehend the numbers of babies around the country left fighting for their lives."
Babies born alive after abortion are entitled to medical care. However, anti-abortion campaigners claim that some are so unwanted, they are simply left to die.
The Department of Health said that key medical associations agreed that the time limit for abortion did not need to be changed.
• Thirty years ago, Gianna Jessen's mother had an abortion when seven-and-a-half months pregnant.
The abortion failed and, 18 hours later, Gianna (pictured) was born alive.
She suffered cerebral palsy as a result of the botched abortion, yet has defied doctors' predictions that she would never walk.
In fact she has run a marathon, is an accomplished singer and writer and travels the world to campaign against abortion.
Her mother was 17 when she decided to have the abortion. Weighing 2lbs when she was born, she spent several months in hospital fighting for her life, before being placed in a foster home.
Her cerebral palsy, which was caused by her brain being starved of oxygen during the abortion, was diagnosed at 17 months old. Doctors said she would never be able to crawl or even sit-up unaided, much less stand or walk.
Now, after several operations and years of physiotherapy she has proved them wrong. Gianna does not know why her natural mother chose to abort her.
She said: "If abortion is about women's rights, then what were my rights?
"No decision is solely yours to make. All decisions affect another human being - whether it is for good or for ill.
"If people are going to talk about abortion, then it's important for them to know that these babies can be born alive and survive."
Reader views (13)
It is sad that the babies can be born alive however it still is the womens choice.
- Mia, FoCo US
there should be another scan between the 12 and twenty week scan to check for defects so that it dosent get to the 20 week stage before they find these defects !
- Anna, kent england
ABORTION IS MURDER
- Sherri, Brisbane, Australia.
Yes, our President Obama does not support protecting innocent human life, and it bothers me greatly. As a state senator, Obama opposed legislation mandating emergency medical treatment for infants who survived an attempted abortion, because he felt that a live baby would "add one more burden on a woman." Under Obamalaw, any medical professional who tried to save the life of a breathing, aborted child would be breaking the law! I say again, and I say often, "It's a CHILD, not a choice." Sexually active adults have PLENTY of choices before conception, including RU-486, the opps-I-goofed morning after pill! Adults should NOT have the right to kill another life period, even if it is in the womb.
- Kelly Anderson, Reno, Nevada, USA
My husband and I were urged to "interrupt" our pregnancy, I was almost 22 weeks, we were referred to St Thomas's hospital and were seen the next day by the fetal heart specialist team, they scanned me for about an hour and half and broke the news that shattered our world, our baby had severe congenital heart defects, we were told that her chances of survival were so slim - they did not think I would go full term let alone the first operation- as they could not see blood flow where it needed to be for my daughter to survive outside of my womb, it has truly broken my husband and I, but we thought only of our baby and did not want to put her in danger of suffering pain,to keep her alive on little more than a wing and a prayer
It is an awful choice to have to make, even harder to see it through, I cannot begin to explain how great the loss is...the experience itself was dreadful, I was left pretty much alone apart from the administering of the tablets, the midwifes were not present when my daughter was born, they were chatting on the ward corridor, my Mum ran to alert them and my husband stayed with me, my little daughter was born sleeping on 28th Feb 2009, at almost 22 weeks, we named her Jasmine, she was so beautiful, so lovely, it hurt me far more than I can ever explain to have to go through having to let her go, my husband and I did not for one minute think of ourselves, nor how we would react to this experience after...
- Kaz, England
I believe in the right to abortion, but I also believe in the right to life. Abortions should not be carried out beyond the 12 week miscarriage period.
Babies born alive beyond this period should be given as much chance to survive as anyone else. If you still find you are unable to care for the child once born, then there are many people out there willing to care for babies, but the adoption agencies must relax some of the ridiculous rules such as "you're too fat" or "you smoked 30 years ago" even "you have a cat" can sometimes mean you can't adopt a baby!! There are many issues to sort out, but DO NOT abort after 12 weeks.
- Ruth, Manchester, UK
Obama reportedly voted against a similar "Born Alive Act" - saying it would "erode Roe vs. Wade."
- Born Alive Act, MD, USA
Maybe what T.S. Eliot wrote can be applied to this also 'This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper.' Only gotta wonder, can these babies even whimper?
- James J., USA
How can people believe that just because the baby is still inside its mother it is not a life to be valued?
Even though a doctor tells you your unborn child is severely handicapped, there is no way to know for sure. My friends mother was told that her daughter was going to be retarded and that she should get an abortion, she refused. Today my friend makes top grades in university.
How can these doctors allow these babies to die and why has this never been on the news? The reality has been hidden from us for years, allowing society to believe that abortion is somehow humane.
- C.W., Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Aren't these doctors supposed to 'do no harm'? Well allowing a babies to die is doing harm.
That is awful. I couldn't be a nurse and hold a baby until it dies.
- K.E., cleveland,ohio USA
I saw a nurse on TV who said she and the other hospital staff were not allowed to take aborted babies born alive to neo natal. All she could do was to hold and comfort them as they slowly died, gasping for breath.
Doctors can kill viable, late-term babies so long as they are still in the womb. Once out of the womb, although they cannot "kill" the baby, they can allow it to die without taking measures to save the life. What has become of our society?
- K.R. Madera, Boise, Idaho, USA
This kind of thing makes me question my beliefs as a pro-choicer.
- Jennifer, Portage WI
"From 22 weeks, the tablets should be preceded by a lethal injection into the baby's heart to ensure the baby is dead before the procedure goes any further".
Sounds like a scene from Schindler's List. Absolutely horrendous.
- Ben, London
