:: The S.I.C.L.E. Cell ::

:: Tuesday, April 13, 2004 ::

An excerpt from the recent PBA testimony:

"THE COURT: Do any of [the parents] ask you whether or not the fetus experiences pain when that limb is torn off?

THE WITNESS: I do have patients who ask about fetal pain during the procedure, yes.

THE COURT: And what do you tell them?

THE WITNESS: I, first of all, assess their feelings about this, but they of course even notwithstanding the abortion decision, would generally tell me they would like to avoid the fetus feeling pain. I explain to them that in conjunction with our anesthesiologists that the medication that we give to our patients during the procedure will cross the placenta so the fetus will have some of the same medications that the mother has.

THE COURT: Some.

THE WITNESS: Yes, that's right.

THE COURT: What do you tell them, does the fetus feel pain or not when they ask?

THE WITNESS: What I tell them is that the subject of the fetal pain and whether a fetus can appreciate pain is a subject of some research and controversy and that I don't know to what extent the fetus can feel pain but that its --

THE COURT: Do you tell them it feels some pain?

THE WITNESS: I do know that when we do, for instance an amniocentesis and put a needle through the abdomen into the amniotic cavity that the fetus withdraws so I certainly know based on my experience that the fetus will withdraw in response to a painful stimulus.

THE COURT: Don't you make it simple for them and say "Yeah, they feel it"?

THE WITNESS: I am not confident what the fetus feels with the anesthesia that we use and I don't want to shy away from the possibility the fetus feels pain but I do not believe it's fully determined what the fetus feels during this procedure.

THE COURT: Do you care?

THE WITNESS: Certainly."

I.E...

Joe Judge: Does a baby feel pain in a PBA, Ms. Abortionist?

Ms. Abortionist: Well I... um... er... What is pain really?

Joe Judge: Does a baby feel pain when he is conscious, half born, squirming his little arms and legs around and you poke him in the back of the head with a sharp point and suck his brains out with an aspirator?

Ms. Abortionist: Well... I... um... er...
I DID NOT HAVE SEXUAL RELATIONS WITH THAT WOMAN!
Um... what was the question again?

Joe Judge: Look, do you even care that a PBA might be painful to a child?

Ms. Abortionist: Oh yes, and I toss their little deflated bodies in the company retort very gently.

:: ashli 9:01 AM # ::
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