In 2019, Dr. Forrest Smith, an abortionist for 50 years, took the stand during the criminal preliminary hearing on the fetal body part trafficking case between the pro-life Center for Medical Progress (CMP) and the State of California regarding undercover recordings of Planned Parenthood executives. Though he was an active abortionist at the time, Smith testified on behalf of the pro-life organization and its undercover journalists, David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt, whose videos appeared to depict Planned Parnethood financially profiting off of illegal fetal body part sales. Now, Smith has become pro-life.
Smith, having committed about 50,000 abortions, had been angered by the pro-life undercover videos put out by CMP and he planned “to expose David Daleiden as a fraud.” However, after meeting Daleiden and watching the videos, he said he realized Daleiden was being honest. He ultimately testified, “There’s no question in my mind that at least some of these fetuses were live births” before they were dissected and used for research.
In October, a press release revealed that Smith is no longer an abortionist and that he urged voters to reject state abortion amendments that would expand and protect abortion. He also began to share the truth that induced abortion — the direct and intentional killing of a preborn child — is never medically necessary, even in an emergency. “There is no need to kill viable babies,” he said.
READ: VICTORY: Lawfare against Daleiden and Merritt, who exposed Planned Parenthood, is over
“Termination does not equal abortion. We can save these babies,” said Smith. “We have the medical technology and resources to ensure that any child born, even prematurely, can receive the care they need.”
Even when a pregnancy has to end to save the mother’s health or life, the baby does not have to be intentionally killed — which would be an injustice to both the baby and the parents. The baby can be delivered and if he dies as a result of prematurity, it would be a tragic but natural loss of life, not a deliberate and violent one.
Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue said, “For decades, we protested outside of Dr. Smith’s clinics, fighting against what we saw as a terrible injustice. Now, to call him a friend and ally in the fight to protect the unborn is a remarkable moment. His decision to stand with us and speak out for life shows how powerful truth can be. Together, we now work to save the very lives we once stood on opposite sides over.”
