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Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus broadcast transcript
April 25, 2000

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Christ Hospital

The practice of inducing labor on babies with birth defects and then
allowing them to die has gone on for years. 

Stuart Shepard reports.
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According to an Illinois Department of Health document, on average, two
babies a month are subjected to "therapeutic abortion" at Chicago's Christ
Hospital. That's the hospital's term for a forced labor and premature
delivery. One that sometimes results in those tiny infants being born
alive,
only to die minutes or hours later.

#2, :11 (Jill Stanek :06) "Just this year alone, two babies have been
born that lived between two and three hours."

Jill Stanek is the nurse who brought the practice to light. The hospital
has
sharply disciplined her, but stopped short of firing her. She continues to
speak out in spite of the opposition.

#2, 1:22 (Jill Stanek :16) "The difference is that we are right there
on
the abortion line where pro-life and pro-choice both are seeing these
abortions done. And in that regard, it is very hard."

The report also shows the hospital has performed the so-called "therapeutic
abortions" since 1978. Penny Pullen, with Life Advocacy Resource Project,
says a bill just introduced in the U.S. House would protect any infant born
alive.

#5 2:35 (Penny Pullen :12) "These babies who are born alive, who
survive
abortions, even for a few minutes, would be considered persons to be
protected by the law."

House Bill 4292 is called the "Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 2000."
For Family News in Focus, I'm Stuart Shepard.

Stuart Shepard
Associate Producer
Family News in Focus
Focus on the Family

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