Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was sentenced to death last year for his role in the Boston Marathon Bombing. That didn’t sit well with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Juan E. Méndez. According to him, “The death penalty does not show respect for life, in fact it does the opposite.” As you can see, Méndez is passionate about defending the right to life…
…for murderers. Children in the womb? Not so much.
In April, Méndez released a report stating that pro-life laws constitute “torture.” He said they’re based on “humiliating and judgmental attitudes” while inflicting “tremendous and lasting” damage on women.
The evidence from Poland, Ireland, and Malta doesn’t back up that assessment: not only does each have strict abortion laws, all three also have better maternal mortality figures than the US. Mexico’s and Chile’s experience doesn’t support it either, as Mexican states with permissive abortion laws actually have higher mortality rates while Chile’s continued to fall after pro-life laws were enacted.
That an anti-torture advocate would be pushing for abortion seems especially strange when you see what it can involve.
Dr. Anthony Levatino is an obstetrician-gynecologist who’s performed over 1,200 abortions. In the video below, he explains how a second trimester abortion procedure called dilation and evacuation (D&E) is performed.
After the amniotic fluid is removed, the abortionist uses a sopher clamp — a grasping instrument with rows of sharp “teeth” — to grasp and pull the baby’s arms and legs, tearing the limbs from the child’s body.
The abortionist continues to grasp intestines, spine, heart, lungs, and any other limbs or body parts. The most difficult part of the procedure is usually finding, grasping and crushing the baby’s head.
After removing pieces of the child’s skull, the abortionist uses a curette to scrape the uterus and remove the placenta and any remaining parts of the baby.
Dr. Kawaljeet Anand is a professor of pediatrics, anesthesiology and neurobiology at the University of Tennessee, and his research indicates a baby can feel that happening. Regarding another abortion technique known as dilation and extraction (D&X), Anand said, “If the fetus is beyond 20 weeks of gestation, I would assume that there will be pain caused to the fetus. And I believe it will be severe and excruciating pain.”
By the way, if you think Dr. Levatino undermines his credibility by saying “baby” instead of “fetus,” then you should probably talk to Dr. Savita Ginde. Dr. Ginde is the medical director for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains and she had no problem calling a fetus a baby. Right after she aborted him.
You can help show life isn’t “dispensable” by supporting legislation to protect pain-capable children. You can also remind the presidential candidates how much Supreme Court appointments matter.
Finally, you can tell Congress to redirect over half a billion dollars in funding from Planned Parenthood (America’s largest abortion chain) to federally qualified health centers (FQHC) and community health centers (CHCs) instead. Not only would that show “respect for life,” but it would provide more accessible care to those in need.
Capital punishment is a controversial subject, but when someone says convicted terrorists deserve more rights than children, it’s tough to take him seriously. So until Juan Méndez gets his priorities straight, we’ll need to pick up the slack.
