Does it matter if abortion kills babies?

At a public meeting on April 17, 2019, at QUT in Brisbane I asked the following question of a panel of medical personnel which included two abortion practitioners:

“When was it conclusively established that abortion does not destroy the life of a child?”

The panel members hesitated to answer so I took the opportunity to point out that the Queensland Criminal Code, the Queensland Termination of Pregnancy Act 2018, and the new Queensland Human Rights Act 2019, all acknowledge that the entity carried by a pregnant woman is a “child”.

When panel member, Brisbane abortionist Dr Carol Portman, took the microphone she readily conceded that she does not dispute that abortion kills babies. She said that just that day she had seen a woman who wanted an abortion. The woman acknowledged that she was carrying a baby and Dr Portman herself recognised the woman was carrying a baby. Nevertheless, Dr Portman had been willing to give the woman the abortion.

And Carol Portman is far from the only abortionist or pro-choice advocate to state that abortion kills babies.

For a start, it was interesting to note that none of the other panel members that night expressed a view contrary to that of Dr Portman’s.

More pointedly, British abortionist, Judith Arcana, who had an abortion herself, has said, “But we should never disregard the fact that being pregnant means that there is baby growing inside of a woman, a baby whose life is ended. We ought not to pretend this is not happening”.

Abortionist William Harrison stated that: “No one, neither the patient receiving the abortion, nor the person doing the abortion, is ever, at any time, unaware that they are ending a life”.

The late Australian abortionist, Dr Bertram Wainer: “Abortion is killing. Nobody can argue with that”.

Dr Curtis Boyd, abortionist: “Am I killing? Yes I am. I know that”.

Abortionist Diane M. Gianelli: “I have angry feelings at myself for feeling good about grasping the calvaria [head], for feeling good about doing a technically good procedure that destroys a fetus, kills a baby”.

Dr Mary Calderone, former Director of Planned Parenthood wrote: “Abortion is the taking of a human life”.