My name is Dr. Anthony Levatino.
I’m a practicing Obstetrician-Gynecologist and I’ve performed over 1,200 abortions.
First, I’m going to describe a 1st Trimester Medical Abortion.
This is a procedure in which the mother swallows pills in order to terminate her baby, and
it is performed up to the 9th week of pregnancy.
The procedure involves two steps.
Step One.
At the abortion clinic or doctor’s office, the woman takes pills which contain Mifepristone,
also called RU-486. RU-486 blocks the action of a hormone called Progesterone.
Progesterone is naturally produced in the mother's body
to stabilize the lining of the uterus.
When RU-486 blocks Progesterone, the lining of the mother’s uterus breaks down, cutting
off blood and nourishment to the baby, who then dies inside the mother's womb.
It is important to note that even after it has been taken, it is possible to reverse
the effects of RU-486 and save the baby, if Progesterone is administered.
The sooner, the better.
Step Two.
24-48 hours after taking RU-486, the woman takes Misoprostol, also called Cytotec, that
is administered either orally or vaginally.
RU-486 and Misoprostol together cause severe cramping, contractions, and often heavy bleeding,
to force the dead baby out of the woman's uterus.
The process can be very intense and painful, and the bleeding and contractions can last
from a few hours to several days.
While she could lose her baby anytime and anywhere during this process, the woman will
often sit on a toilet as she prepares to expel the child, which she will then flush.
She may even see her dead baby within the pregnancy sac.
At 9 weeks for example, the baby will be almost an inch long, and if she looks carefully,
she might be able to count the fingers and toes.
After she has disposed of her baby, the woman may have bleeding and spotting
for several weeks.
Bleeding lasts, on average, 9-16 days.
8% of women bleed more than 30 days, and 1% require hospitalization because of heavy bleeding.
RU-486 is only FDA approved for the first 7 weeks of pregnancy.
While RU-486 can be used off-label up to nine weeks,
the failure rate increases as the pregnancy progresses.
At 7 weeks, it has a 5% failure rate.
At 8 weeks, an 8% failure rate, and at 9 weeks, a 10% failure rate.
If failure occurs, she will usually be offered a surgical abortion.
For the mother, medical abortion often causes abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea,
headache and heavy bleeding.
Maternal deaths have occurred, most frequently due to infection and undiagnosed ectopic pregnancy.
1st Trimester Surgical Abortion, called Suction D & C, Dilatation and Curettage.
This is the most frequently performed abortion,
and is used typically from 5 to 13 weeks of pregnancy.
After administering anesthesia, the abortionist uses a speculum, like this.
This is placed inside the vagina, and opened using this screw on the side,
allowing the abortionist to see the cervix, the entrance to the uterus.
The cervix acts as a gate that stays closed for the duration of pregnancy, protecting
the baby until it is ready for birth.
The abortionist uses a series of metal rods called dilators, like these, which increase
in thickness, and inserts them into the cervix to dilate it, gaining access to the inside
of the uterus where the baby resides.
The baby has a heartbeat, fingers, toes, arms, and legs,
but its bones are still weak and fragile.
The abortionist takes a suction catheter, like this one.
This is a 14 French Suction Catheter. It’s clear plastic, about 9 inches long, and it
has a hole through the center.
It is inserted through the cervix, into the uterus.
The suction machine is then turned on, with a force 10-20 times more powerful than your
household vacuum cleaner.
The baby is rapidly torn apart by the force of the suction, and squeezed through this
tubing down into the suction machine, followed by the placenta.
Though the uterus is mostly emptied at this point, one of the risks of a Suction D & C
is incomplete abortion, essentially pieces of the baby or placenta left behind.
This can lead to infection or bleeding.
In an attempt to prevent this, the abortionist uses a curette
to scrape the lining of the uterus.
A curette is basically a long-handled curved blade.
Once the uterus is empty, the speculum is removed and the abortion is complete.
The risks of Suction D & C include perforation or laceration of the uterus or cervix, potentially
damaging intestine, bladder, and nearby blood vessels, hemorrhage, infection, and in rare
instances, even death.
Future pregnancies are also at a greater risk for loss or premature delivery due to abortion-related
trauma and injury to the cervix.
2nd Trimester Surgical Abortion, called Dilatation and Evacuation, or D & E.
A D & E is performed between 13 and 24 weeks of pregnancy.
After administering anesthesia, the abortionist uses a weighted speculum, like this one, that
opens the vagina widely.
Because 2nd trimester babies are so large, this greater access facilitates a late term
abortion.
Late term abortion requires that the cervix be prepared 24-48 hours in advance with laminaria.
Laminaria is a type of sterilized seaweed that absorbs water over 8-12 hours and swells
to several times its original diameter.
Once removed, metal dilators can be used to further open the cervix as needed.
Once the cervix has been stretched open, the suction tube is placed inside.
A baby at 20 weeks gestation is as big as the length of my hand,
from head to rump, not counting the legs.
The suction machine is turned on, and pale yellow amniotic fluid surrounding the baby
is suctioned out through the catheters.
But babies this big, they don’t fit through catheters this size.
The baby’s bones and skull are too strong to be torn apart by suction alone.
This is a Sopher clamp.
A Sopher clamp is made of stainless steel, it’s about 13 inches long.
The business end is about 2 1/2 inches long a 1/2-inch wide,
and there are rows of sharp teeth.
This is a grasping instrument and when it gets a hold of something,
it does not let go.
The abortionist uses this clamp to grasp an arm or a leg.
Once he has a firm grip, the abortionist pulls hard,
in order to tear the limb from the baby’s body.
One by one, the rest of the limbs are removed, along with the intestines, the spine,
and the heart and lungs.
Usually the most difficult part of the procedure is extracting the baby’s head, which is
about the size of a large plum at 20 weeks.
The head is grasped and crushed. The abortionist knows he has crushed the skull when a white
substance comes out of the cervix.
This was the baby’s brains. The abortionist then removes skull pieces.
He removes the placenta and any left over parts of the baby with a curette, scraping
the lining of the uterus for any remaining tissue.
The abortionist then collects the baby parts and reassembles them to make sure that there
are two arms, two legs, and all the pieces.
Once all of the parts have been accounted for, the abortion is complete.
For the woman, this procedure carries a significant risk of major complications, including perforation
or laceration of the uterus or cervix, with possible damage to the bowel, bladder, and
other maternal organs.
Infection and hemorrhage can also occur, which can even lead to death.
Future pregnancies are also at a greater risk for loss or premature delivery due to abortion-related
trauma and injury to the cervix.
Finally, I’m going to describe a 3rd Trimester Induced Abortion,
which is performed at 25 weeks to term.
At this point, the baby is almost fully developed and viable, meaning he or she could survive
outside the womb if the mother were to go into labor prematurely.
Because the baby is so large and developed, this procedure takes 3 or 4 days to complete.
On Day 1, the Abortionist uses a large needle to inject a drug called Digoxin.
Digoxin is generally used to treat heart problems,
but a high enough dosage of Digoxin will cause fatal cardiac arrest.
The abortionist inserts the needle with the Digoxin through the woman’s abdomen or through
her vagina and into the baby, targeting either the head, torso, or heart.
The baby will feel it, babies at this stage feel pain.
When the needle pierces the baby’s body, and the Digoxin takes effect,
the life of the baby will end.
The abortionist then inserts multiple sticks of seaweed called laminaria
into the woman's cervix.
They will slowly open up the cervix for delivery of a stillborn baby.
While the woman waits for the laminaria to dilate her cervix,
she carries her dead baby inside of her for 2 to 3 days.
On Day 2, the abortionist replaces the laminaria,
and may perform a second ultrasound to ensure the baby is dead.
If the child is still alive, he administers another lethal dose of Digoxin.
The woman then goes back to where she is staying while her cervix continues to dilate.
If she goes into labor, and is unable to make it to the clinic in time,
she will give birth at home or in a hotel.
In this case, she may be advised to deliver her baby into a bathroom toilet.
The abortionist then comes to remove the baby and clean up.
If she can make it to the clinic, she will do so during her severest contractions and
deliver her dead son or daughter.
If the baby does not come out whole, then the procedure becomes a D & E,
a dilation and evacuation, and the abortionist uses clamps
and forceps to dismember the baby, piece by piece.
Once the placenta and all of the body parts have been removed, the abortion is complete.
Late-term abortions have a high risk of hemorrhage, lacerations, and uterine perforations,
as well as a risk of maternal death.
Future pregnancies are also at a greater risk for loss or premature delivery
due to abortion-related trauma and injury to the cervix.
As I mentioned at the beginning, I’m Dr. Anthony Levatino, and in the early part of
my career as an OB/GYN I performed over 1,200 abortions.
One day, after completing one of those abortions, I looked at the remains of a preborn child
whose life I had ended, and all I could see was someone's son or daughter.
I came to realize that killing a baby at any stage of pregnancy, for any reason, is wrong.
I want you to know today, no matter where you’re at or what you’ve done,
you can change. Make a decision today to protect the preborn.
Thank you for your time.
I will no longer do any more abortions.
When you finally figure out that killing a baby that big for money is wrong, then it
doesn’t take you too long to figure out it doesn’t matter if the baby is this big,
or this big, or this big, or maybe even this big. It’s all the same.
And I haven’t done any since then and I never will.