WASHINGTON, D.C., April 29, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – This morning Live Action released undercover footage of another late-term abortionist apparently offering to violate the Born Alive Infants Protection Act.
In the video, Dr. Cesare F. Santangelo of Washington, D.C., tells an undercover reporter no baby has ever been born alive during the late-term abortions he performs but if one were, “we would not help it.”
The 23-year-old reporter, who was measured as 26-weeks pregnant, told employees of the Washington Surgi-Clinic that she wanted a late-term abortion. But she was afraid her baby would be born alive, the doctor would save its life, and she would be compelled to care for it.
“Let’s say you went into labor, the membranes ruptured, and you delivered before we got to the termination part of the procedure here,” he says. “We would not help it.”
“Legally, we would be obligated to help it,” he acknowledged. But “it’s too early to survive, usually,” he said. “It will expire shortly after birth.” (Emphasis added.)
Dr. Santangelo reassured her the baby was unlikely to be born – and if it were, he would not take adequate measures to assure it wins its fight for life.
“It’s all in how vigorously you do things to help a fetus survive at this point,” he said.
He likened the premature newborn to “a terminal person in the hospital that had cancer.”
“You wouldn’t do any extra procedures to help that person survive,” he said. “Like 'do not resuscitate' orders.”
He specifically stated he would not intubate the newborn.
Dr. Santangelo explains his method of abortion presents “less chance of causing a perforation to the uterus.” Live Action reports in 2010, Santangelo was sued for a botched abortion.
The group has called for a full investigation and prosecution, if necessary.
“Cesare Santangelo and the Washington Surgi-Clinic have been caught on tape agreeing to deny medical care to a viable child who survives an abortion, violating District of Columbia code § 22-2401, murder in the first degree,” said Live Action in a press release. “Attorney General Irvin Nathan should immediately launch criminal investigations into Cesare Santangelo and Washington Surgi-Clinic.”
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The video is the second in a new series by the pro-life investigative team.
Over the weekend, it released footage of a counselor at Dr. Emily’s Women’s Health Center in the Bronx telling an undercover reporter, “If it comes out, then it comes out. Flush it…If anything, you know, put it in a bag or something or somewhere and bring it to us.” The reporter had asked what to do if she delivered the baby at home while the two-day abortion procedure was underway.
When asked what would happen to the baby, the counselor responds, “They would still have to put it in a container – like, a jar – with solution and send it to the lab.”
If the baby shows signs of life, she says, “the solution will make it stop…That’s the whole purpose of the solution.”
The latest video, which was shot on November 29, is released on the day lawyers are presenting closing arguments in the trial of Philadlephia abortionist Kermit Gosnell, who is accused of “aborting” babies after they were born alive.
Last month, Alisa LaPolt Snow, a lobbyist for the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates, told the Florida legislature that if a child is born alive during a botched abortion, its survival “should be left up to the woman, her family, and the physician.”
Snow was testifying against a born alive infant protection act, similar to the one President Barack Obama opposed while he was a state senator in Illinois. The Abortion Lobby states the number of babies born alive is tiny.
“What you’re worried about, I’m not worried about, okay?” Dr. Santangelo tells the reporter as she is ready to leave. “All right, Sweetheart, you go home and think about this.”
He states, “Nobody can force you…to accept a fetus, a baby you don’t want. You know, there's always adoption.”