WARNING ABOUT GRAPHIC CONTENT
A midwife told through tears of babies born alive after abortions who struggled to breathe before being left to die.
Louise Adsett, a clinical midwife who has worked in maternity and birth units in Queensland for 14 years, gave evidence on Monday to a parliamentary inquiry into the Termination of Pregnancy (Live Births) Amendment Bill 2024.
Ms Adsett, acting on behalf of the Australian Christian Lobby, said she had noticed an increase in the number of late-stage abortions – for “psychosocial or financial reasons” – at the hospital where she works in Brisbane’s south.
“Unfortunately, in the maternity ward of my hospital, where every new birth is celebrated and protected, there has been an increase in social abortions in later pregnancies and this is now normal,” said Ms Adsett.
“We’ve seen babies born alive after abortions from 15 to 22 weeks. Born alive, gasping for air, moving, with a palpable heartbeat. They were fighting for their lives, as we as humans are meant to do.”
She added: ‘Sometimes babies who are born alive after an abortion are put in a witch’s hat, covered up, taken out of the room and die wearing the witch’s hat.
‘This is stressful for many midwives, as they cannot provide medical care for the baby. They may be limited to providing comfort care, which means just wrapping and holding the baby.’
The mother of three described herself as a “conscientious objector” to abortion and said she would comfort the dying babies in their final moments.
Louise Adsett (pictured), a clinical midwife who has worked in Queensland maternity and birth units for 14 years, gave evidence on Monday to a state parliamentary inquiry into the Termination of Pregnancy (Live Births) Amendment Bill 2024.
Ms Adsett, acting on behalf of the Australian Christian Lobby, claimed she had personally witnessed an increase in abortions for ‘psychosocial or financial reasons’ at the hospital where she works in Brisbane’s south (stock photo)
Ms Adsett gave a shocking example of a mother who decided to abort her baby at ‘more than 21 weeks’ gestation and was prescribed the drug misoprostol the next morning.
“The process took all day and the baby was only born during the early hours of a night shift, with minimal staff present,” Mrs Adsett told the inquiry.
“This baby was moving vigorously, gasping for air, and had a palpable heartbeat, which indicated that this baby was alive. He weighed over 400 grams, but the baby was a good weight.
‘The parents of this baby did not want to see or hold this baby. Midwives and doctors continued to hold this tiny life while they continued to care for other women who were delivering and welcoming their babies.
“This baby boy fought for his life for five hours before he took his last breath. This is not an unusual occurrence.”
Ms Adsett gave a disturbing example of a mother who decided to abort her baby at ‘more than 21 weeks’ gestation and was given the drug misoprostol in the morning
Fighting back tears, she added: “These babies deserve better. They deserve the same rights as all human beings.”
The bill, introduced by Robbie Katter of Katter’s Australian Party, aims to introduce legal protections for babies born as a result of termination of pregnancy.
It is not intended to create a barrier to abortion, but to ensure that babies born alive receive the same level of medical care so that they can survive, if possible.
It is relatively rare for an aborted child to be born alive.
Joanna Howe, a law professor at the University of Adelaide, told the inquiry that between 2010 and 2020, 328 babies were born alive in Queensland who were abandoned. The Australian.
Professor Howe said the bill would bring Queensland into line with “the most recent reforms in South Australia and New South Wales, which ensure equal treatment for all live-born children in those jurisdictions, regardless of the circumstances of their birth”.