Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave:
Vice President for Government Affairs
Susan B. Anthony List

In Albuquerque, for the first time in our nation’s history, voters – not the legislature, not the courts – will decide if we should end barbaric late abortions going into the sixth month of pregnancy.

The procedure used for a late abortion at this stage, a D&E (Dilation and Evacuation) is simply brutal – just ask Dr. Anthony Levantino. He is a former abortionist, turned pro-life doctor who testified before Congress this year in support of the House bill to end abortion after 20 weeks (which thankfully passed over the summer). In his testimony, he described the procedure in heartbreaking, stomach-churning detail:

“With suction complete, look for your Sopher clamp. This instrument is about thirteen inches long and made of stainless steel. At the business end are located jaws about 2 ½ inches long and about ¾ of an inch wide with rows of sharp ridges or teeth. This instrument is for grasping and crushing tissue. When it gets hold of something, it does not let go. 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…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…”

This is what we are fighting to end.