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'Babies are not ripped out you f***ing asshole': Woman writes powerful response to Donald Trump’s unscientific abortion comment

Cecily Kellogg’s essay explains how she almost died from preeclampsia, and was forced to terminate her pregnancy - the ‘worst day of [her] life'

Rachael Revesz
New York
Friday 21 October 2016 10:02 EDT
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Mr Trump sparked controversy by peddling myths about later-term abortions
Mr Trump sparked controversy by peddling myths about later-term abortions (AFP/Getty)

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A woman has written a powerful essay about her near-death experience during pregnancy in response to Donald Trump saying that babies should not be “ripped from the womb”.

Mr Trump said at the third presidential debate that babies can be “ripped out" as late as “the ninth month and the final day”.

Cecily Kellogg, a writer and content marketer, wrote in her essay on Medium: "Donald, what you described last night literally never happens. EVER. Nope, not once. Not ever. In EVERY SINGLE CASE of pregnancy termination done in the final trimester of pregnancy it is because the mom is dying or the baby’s condition is incompatible with life."

She continued: “If a baby is near full term and the mother is sick — say, like me, dying from a pregnancy related disease like preeclampsia—they deliver the f***ing baby alive if possible.

“In fact, if the baby is past viability, they will whisk it to the NICU [neonatal intensive care unit] once born and do their damnedest to save that baby’s life.”

Ms Kellogg said that 76,000 women - between 5 and 8 per cent of pregnancies - die every year from the disease.

In many cases, preeclampsia develops later in life and babies can be saved. But it developed early in Ms Kellogg’s pregnancy.

Trump thinks Clinton's abortion policy means you can 'rip the baby out' after being nine months pregnant

She became pregnant with twins after one round of IVF, but she learnt at 23 and a half weeks that one twin had died.

She said her organs shut down in hospital, she stopped producing urine, she was vomiting and her blood pressure was rising. The doctors said he had to terminate the pregnancy otherwise her and her son would die.

“Let me make this very, very clear: this was the worst fucking day of my life. It was absolutely wrenching, devastating, and horrid. My husband and I sobbed after we received the news.”

Her surviving twin was reportedly very small and would not have survived.

Ms Kellogg accused Mr Trump of living in an “alternate reality”.

He said at the third presidential debate that he would appoint pro-life judges and said abortion was “not acceptable”.

He was previously criticised for telling MSNBC that there should be “some sort of punishment” for women who get abortions, but said later that week that the punishment should be focused on abortion providers.

Hillary Clinton said at the debate she would defend Roe V Wade, a 1973 law which guarantees a woman the constitutional right to terminate her pregnancy, and she would defend family planning clinic Planned Parenthood.

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