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Smooth. So Smooth.
Wednesday, May 19, 2004
New Blog Location!!
New Baby Killers
A disturbing new trend in the fight of the baby killers is developing. The tools are the FDA and regulations regarding medical use of ultrasound equipment. The instigators are various abortion groups and the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM).
The AIUM has been provoking the FDA into investigating and shutting down so-called Fetal Foto Boutiques. These are places where pregnant women can go to get 3-D and 4-D pictures and videos of their unborn child in special frames and keepsake ornaments. Some of these baby photo studios have been reported to use the ultrasound machines on higher energy exposures for as long as an hour to get the pictures. Although nothing has ever been proven, this is potentially harmful to the child and should not be practiced.
The official stance of the AIUM regarding the use of ultrasound technology is thus:
Ahhhh, that’s what the baby killers would like you to think. Under the cover of “consumer protection” they move to restrict access to the truth about abortion.
You see, the key word in the AIUM’s statement is psychosocial. According to these experts, use of the ultrasound purely for informational or educational purposes – even if used correctly and under the supervision of a physician – is inappropriate and contrary to responsible medical practice. This means that the official stance of the organization is that ultrasound machines may not be used in crisis pregnancy centers. The statement effectively moves the caring practice of the physicians at these centers outside the realm of acceptable medicine.
Before you think I am reading too much into this, here is a quote from a recent president of the AIUM, the very active L.A. doctor Lawrence Platt. Dr. Platt was interviewed by NPR recently and was asked about how the FDA’s new aggressive stance should apply to anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers. He said,
The most obvious factual statement is that abortion is always more harmful to a baby fetus than any level of ultrasound. This is so obvious that we should not assume that Dr. Platt and others like him at the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine do not recognize it. This medical body has taken a political stand in favor of those who would promote violence against unborn children and actively work to suppress the efforts of those who have a different point of view. The culture war touches every soul and every organization is affected. If you know someone who belongs to the AIUM, encourage them to take a stand against the leadership that seeks to kill children – and remove psychosocial from the official position statement.
The AIUM has been provoking the FDA into investigating and shutting down so-called Fetal Foto Boutiques. These are places where pregnant women can go to get 3-D and 4-D pictures and videos of their unborn child in special frames and keepsake ornaments. Some of these baby photo studios have been reported to use the ultrasound machines on higher energy exposures for as long as an hour to get the pictures. Although nothing has ever been proven, this is potentially harmful to the child and should not be practiced.
The official stance of the AIUM regarding the use of ultrasound technology is thus:
The AIUM advocates the responsible use of diagnostic ultrasound. The AIUM strongly discourages the non-medical use of ultrasound for psychosocial or entertainment purposes. The use of either 2-dimensional (2D) or 3-dimensional (3D) ultrasound to only view the fetus, obtain a picture of the fetus or determine the fetal gender without a medical indication is inappropriate and contrary to responsible medical practice.Everyone can agree that it is probably bad to have long-exposure high-energy ultrasounds on little babies, right? Isn’t it great that we have an agency like the FDA to protect us from those who would put us in harm’s way for a profit? No one really likes those cutesy strip-mall boutiques anyway, right?
Ahhhh, that’s what the baby killers would like you to think. Under the cover of “consumer protection” they move to restrict access to the truth about abortion.
You see, the key word in the AIUM’s statement is psychosocial. According to these experts, use of the ultrasound purely for informational or educational purposes – even if used correctly and under the supervision of a physician – is inappropriate and contrary to responsible medical practice. This means that the official stance of the organization is that ultrasound machines may not be used in crisis pregnancy centers. The statement effectively moves the caring practice of the physicians at these centers outside the realm of acceptable medicine.
Before you think I am reading too much into this, here is a quote from a recent president of the AIUM, the very active L.A. doctor Lawrence Platt. Dr. Platt was interviewed by NPR recently and was asked about how the FDA’s new aggressive stance should apply to anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers. He said,
"I think that to use the equipment in this way is similarly a misuse of technology. To provide information is certainly appropriate, but to use it to sway one’s decision and impact someone’s rights, I think, is the wrong way to use this technology."Apparently, Dr. Platt believes that if you have a "right", then you must immediately exercise it without discretion or evaluation of evidence. There also seems to be the idea that the purpose of a medical faculty is to suppress all information that runs contrary to his private non-medically informed sociopolitical vision. Generally, people believe that medical associations are about organizing and presenting medical facts. In reality, they are political institutions bent on achieving their own ends. The effects of sin cannot be regulated though extensive education. Doctors, as much as anyone, are corrupted by sin and may skew advice for selfish ambition. There is no true objectivity.
The most obvious factual statement is that abortion is always more harmful to a baby fetus than any level of ultrasound. This is so obvious that we should not assume that Dr. Platt and others like him at the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine do not recognize it. This medical body has taken a political stand in favor of those who would promote violence against unborn children and actively work to suppress the efforts of those who have a different point of view. The culture war touches every soul and every organization is affected. If you know someone who belongs to the AIUM, encourage them to take a stand against the leadership that seeks to kill children – and remove psychosocial from the official position statement.
