A growing entourage of Pro-Life legislators in Nebraska is poised to introduce a dismemberment abortion ban in the state legislature next session. Dismemberment abortion, the straightforward term for “dilation and evacuation” or “D&E” abortion, occurs from before nine weeks gestation until late second trimester. The procedure involves dilating a woman’s cervix and introducing tools that an abortionist uses to tear a live, pain-capable child apart piece by piece until he or she is dead and evacuated from the womb.
Former abortionist Anthony Levatino, who became Pro-Life after his five-year-old daughter was hit by a car in 1984, shares the chilling process of committing D&E abortions in more detail at PriestsForLife.org:
A second trimester D&E abortion is a blind procedure. The baby can be in any orientation or position inside the uterus. Picture yourself reaching in with the Sopher clamp and grasping anything you can. At twenty weeks gestation, the uterus is thin and soft so be careful not to perforate or puncture the walls. Once you have grasped something inside, squeeze on the clamp to set the jaws and pull hard – really hard. You feel something let go and out pops a fully formed leg about 4 to 5 inches long. Reach in again and grasp whatever you can. Set the jaw and pull really hard once again and out pops an arm about the same length. Reach in again and again with that clamp and tear out the spine, intestines, heart, and lungs.
Nebraska lawmakers were catalyzed into action after viewing footage released by the Center for Medical Progress detailing what happens to babies in Planned Parenthood after they suffer the fate of dismemberment abortions (spoiler alert: their severed body parts are sold for profit). Banning dismemberment abortions in every state is a key piece of the legislative strategy that will undermine this horrific practice.
Nebraska’s law mirrors those of Kansas and Oklahoma – the first two states in the nation to pass dismemberment abortion bans. Kansas Governor Sam Brownback signed the bill into law in April. National Right to Life president Carol Tobias commented: “We applaud the legislators who stood up for unborn children by supporting the Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act, and we thank Governor Brownback for his outstanding pro-life leadership in signing it into law.”
At Texas Right to Life, we hope to see not only Nebraska, but every other state follow Kansas and Oklahoma’s lead in putting an end to the horrific practice of dismemberment abortion in our nation.
What’s the next Pro-Life step for Texas? Find out tonight on the Online Pro-Life Townhall. Follow the link to watch live at 7:30 pm. You can find more event details on our Facebook page.
