This baby was viable, he was breathing on his own and cried vigorously. I honestly think it was just left to die of cold … the baby, naked, abandoned by all, and so vulnerable. He took a long time to stop whining.

In June of 2015, the European Centre for Law and Justice released a report entitled “Late Term Abortion & Neonatal Infanticide in Europe: Petition for the Rights of Newborns Surviving Their Abortion.”

The report compiled stories from midwives, nurses, and doctors who witnessed babies born alive after botched abortions. None of these babies were allowed to survive. They all died due to neglect, or were killed by doctors.

Mrs. L.M., a former anesthetic nurse, describes what took place when a 28-week-old baby was born alive during an abortion in France. The abortion took place in 1987. The mother was HIV positive. L.M. says:

It was in a maternity of Paris suburbs (South) in 1987. I was an anesthetic nurse at the time and I intervened in monitoring the epidural composed by the Anesthetist… Gynecologists convinced [the mother] to abort but the baby was born alive. Midwives simply put it in an empty box, naked in a stainless steel tub, cold, without any care. His mother was conscious during labor and delivery of the baby; she was crying and wanted to see her little one but the doctors decided that this child should die. They did not give the child to the mother to spare her. This baby was viable, he was breathing on his own and cried vigorously. I honestly think it was just left to die of cold … it was horrible…! We were harnessed in our gloves, overshirts, headwear, masks, “overshoes” because we were afraid of getting AIDS, and the baby, naked, abandoned by all, and so vulnerable. He took a long time to stop whining.

Like the other medical professionals, L.M. stood by and watched the child die.

I almost picked him up to comfort, warm, and save him, but I did not do anything… They all looked so sure that this was the solution. The whole team was nevertheless extremely uncomfortable. The Obstetrician was the decision maker, seeing that he had medically agreed to perform an abortion, and united the midwives by force. I had a little girl of four months at home and I was afraid for her. Why do they fight to save some premature babies while others are given death without humanity? We do not want to actively kill them but passively do! I stopped anesthesia because I could not stand being obliged to put women to sleep for an abortion on demand or medical abortion.

L.M. never assisted in another abortion. In 1988, only a year later, a study was released showing that only seven out of 2,715 babies born to HIV positive mothers tested positive for the AIDS virus at birth. Even then, precautions could be taken. Also, as the European report mentions, babies that initially test positive for HIV might “negate” a few months later and never suffer from AIDS. There is a good chance the child would have lived a long, healthy life.

In 1975, I was born at 28 weeks, the same age as the baby in this story. I survived with no immediate health problems, and was one of the older babies in the ICU. Babies born even more premature than I was were treated, and survived. This baby would have had a good chance of living if medical care had been given.

It is heartbreaking to imagine a baby alone in a cold tub, dying without any comfort. The child’s cries must have haunted the mother, who was not even allowed to comfort her child.

Legalized abortion has led to a devaluing of human life. When doctors mark a baby for death by abortion, there is little incentive for them to help the child if he or she lives through the procedure.