New Undercover Planned Parenthood Video: Abortion Doctor Says Intact Fetuses Are Something ‘To Strive For’

The Center for Medical Progress has released another undercover Planned Parenthood video. The latest video, the 11th video made public by the organization, shows Dr. Amna Dermish discussing the process she uses to “pull out” a fetus during an abortion. The Austin, Texas, abortion doctor says that pulling out an intact fetus is “something to strive for” and that a colleague in the developmental department is obsessed with fetal organs. The organ-obsessed colleague allegedly removes the kidneys and hearts of the fetuses upon removal as the abortion doctor refers to the practice as “cute.”

The 11th video released by the Center for Medical Progress, an anti-abortion organization, allegedly shows an undercover reporter speaking to a Planned Parenthood abortion doctor about the abortion process as the reporter poses as a tissue procurement company employee. In the video, Dr. Amna Dermish discusses the process of removing a fetus during an abortion. The doctor laughs in the footage as they discuss the removal of intact fetus heads. Dermish chuckles as she explains that she has never been able to remove an intact head, but notes that it is “something to strive for.”

According to the Daily Mail, the undercover reporter specifically asks about the method the doctor uses to “pull out” the fetus during the abortion. The doctor discusses sometimes forcing the fetus into a breech position in order to remove the fetus by its feet. She explains that she would remove the lower extremities before “going for” the spine.

“If it’s a breech presentation I’ll remove the extremities first, the lower extremities … and then go for the spine and bring it down that way.”

The discussion of “reverting to breech” shows that Dr. Dermish sometimes will change the presentation of the fetus to breech as it makes it “easier” to get to the fetus for removal. However, she notes that she usually doesn’t do it in the 16 to 18 weeks but rather later in gestation. Therefore, the Center for Medical Progress claims this is an indication of an illegal “partial birth abortion.” According to federal laws, a partial birth abortion occurs when a fetus is removed or partially removed before being killed. One method to perform a partial birth abortion involves turning the fetus to a breech position before removing the fetus up to the neck, at which point the spine may be snipped.

As CMP points out, moving a fetus to breech position for removal is only illegal if the fetus is not killed inside the womb before the re-positioning. Therefore, if chemicals are injected into the fetus before removal, the procedure would not be illegal. However, the CMP claims that Dr. Dermish does not use chemical digoxin to kill fetuses before 20 weeks; therefore, if Dermish does this procedure on an 18-20 weeks fetus, it would be illegal. The doctor says she does not like to do it between 16 and 18 weeks, but says nothing about the 19- to 20-week mark. Therefore, CMP claims this is an indication that the doctor may be performing illegal partial birth abortions in a bid to obtain more intact organs.

“Dermish does not use the chemical digoxin to kill the fetus before 20 weeks, so her feet-first, intact extraction abortions are done on living fetuses. Using ultrasound guidance to manipulate the fetus from vertex to breech orientation before extracting the yet-living fetus is a hallmark of the illegal partial-birth abortion procedure (18 U.S.C. 1531).”

In addition to the claims about potentially illegal abortions, CMP also highlights comments made by a colleague of Dermish that calls another colleague’s obsession with fetal organs as “cute.” The pair say that a colleague in the developmental department will look for kidneys and hearts by dissecting fetuses. They call the act “cute” and make gestures indicating the tiny size of the fetal organs.

Though the video appears damning on the surface, it should be noted that the video clips have been heavily edited to feature the most extreme comments made by abortion providers during the video sessions. However, the full videos, unedited, are also available on the Center for Medical Progress YouTube channel.

[Image via Youtube/ Center for Medical Progress]