By Kristi Burton Brown
Published with permission from Live Action

During a procedure to correct spina bifida while still in the womb, Samuel Armas, twenty-one weeks old, reached out. As Dr. Joseph P. Bruner reached and gently lifted the hand, Samuel reacted and squeezed tightly. (Photo credit: Michael Clancy)

At 21 weeks of pregnancy, British doctors informed Sofia Khan that her preborn son had been diagnosed with spina bifida. Spina bifida can cause physical disabilities, but modern medicine has significantly improved treatment after birth and in utero. Medical professionals report that, with modern treatment, nearly every child with spina bifida can have a productive life and even a level of independence thought impossible years ago.

The famous photo (above) was taken during a fetal surgery on Baby Samuel Armas, who had also been diagnosed with spina bifida. Little Samuel was 21 weeks old at the time — the same age as Sofia Khan’s son.

However, Mrs. Khan and her husband decided to abort their son. Doctors presented abortion as a valid option, and the couple proceeded.

Mrs. Khan went to two different hospitals for separate parts of the abortion procedure. The Bolton News reports:

Mrs Khan went to St Mary’s Hospital in Manchester for a procedure to end the baby’s life. This involved a chemical being injected into the umbilical cord and was done on February 16 by Dr Philip Bullen. …

Dr Bullen said he had listened for a heartbeat, but could not hear one before he sent Mrs Khan to Royal Bolton Hospital where labour was induced.

The doctor and midwives committing the abortion expected the night to end with a stillbirth.

While many abortionists inject the chemical into the child’s heart, some inject into the child’s head, and some — like Dr. Philip Bullen — inject into the umbilical cord.

Mrs. Khan told a midwife at the second hospital that she felt her baby move. In the wee hours of the morning, on February 17, 2018, Mrs. Khan’s son was born — alive and crying.

She named him Mohammed Rehman Ahmed and held him until he died from his extreme prematurity, caused by the attempted abortion.

Sadly, Dr. Bullen’s solution after hearing of the death of Baby Mohammed was not to stop committing these violent killings. Instead, he informed the assistant coroner that “new guidance has now been drawn up following Mohammed’s death which includes listening for a heartbeat for longer.” In the future, this will enable him to determine if another injection is needed to make certain that the baby dies inside his mother’s womb.