My name is Dr. Anthony Levitino. I'm a practicing obstetrician gynecologist and I've performed
over 1200 abortions. Today I'm going to describe a second trimester surgical abortion called
Dilatation and Evacuation, or DNE. A DNE is performed between 13 and 24 weeks of pregnancy.
After administering anesthesia, the abortionist uses a weighted speculum, like this one, that opens
the vagina widely. Because second trimester babies are so large, this greater access facilitates a
late-term abortion. Late-term abortion requires that the cervix be prepared 24 to 48 hours in
advance with laminaria. Laminaria is a type of sterilized seaweed that absorbs water over 8 to
12 hours and swells to several times its original diameter. Once removed, metal dilators can be
used to further open the cervix as needed. Once the cervix has been stretched open, the suction
tube is placed inside. A baby at 20 weeks gestation is as big as the length of my hand, from head
to rump, not counting the legs. The suction machine is turned on and pale yellow amniotic fluid
surrounding the baby is suctioned out through the catheters. The babies this big, they don't fit
through catheters this size. The baby's bones and skull are too strong to be torn apart by suction
alone. This is a sofa clamp. A sofa clamp is made of stainless steel. It's about 13 inches long. The
business end is about two and a half inches long and a half inch wide and there are rows of sharp
teeth. This is a grasping instrument. When it gets a hold of something, it does not let go. The
abortionist uses this clamp to grasp an arm or leg. Once he has a firm grip, the abortionist pulls
hard in order to tear the limb from the baby's body. One by one, the rest of the limbs are removed,
along with the intestines, the spine, and the heart and lungs. Usually the most difficult part of
the procedure is extracting the baby's head, which is about the size of a large plum at 20 weeks.
The head is grasped and crushed. The abortionist knows he has crushed the skull when a white
substance comes out of the cervix. This was the baby's brains. The abortionist then removes skull
pieces. He removes the placenta and any leftover parts of the baby with a curette, scraping the
lining of the uterus for any remaining tissue. The abortionist then collects the baby parts and
reassembles them to make sure that there are two arms, two legs, and all the pieces. Once all the
parts have been accounted for, the abortion is complete. For the woman, this procedure carries
a significant risk of major complications, including perforation or laceration of the uterus or cervix
with possible damage to the bowel, bladder, and other maternal organs. Infection and hemorrhage
can also occur, which can even lead to death. Future pregnancies are also at greater risk for
loss or premature delivery due to abortion-related trauma and injury to the cervix. As I mentioned
at the beginning, I'm Dr. Anthony Levitino, and in the early part of my career as an OBGYN, I
performed over 1,200 abortions. One day, after completing one of those abortions, I looked at
the remains of a pre-born child whose life I had ended and all I could see was someone's son or
daughter. I came to realize that killing a baby at any stage of pregnancy for any reason is wrong.
I want you to know today, no matter where you're at or what you've done, you can change. Make a
decision today to protect the pre-born. Thank you for your time. I will no longer do any more
abortions. When you finally figure out that killing a baby that big for money is wrong,
that it doesn't take you too long to figure out it doesn't matter if the baby is this big or this
big or this big or maybe even this big, it's all the same. And I haven't done any since then and I
never will.
