Longtime abortion doctor Forrest Smith testified Wednesday that some of the abortion procedures recommended by Planned Parenthood in 2015 videos released by a pro-life group would have resulted in "live birth."
Smith suggested to a San Francisco court the videos confirm that Planned Parenthood recommends abortion methods that would allow for harvesting fetal tissue and organs for sale to medical researchers. Smith's testimony agreed with accusations made by Center for Medical Progress founder David Daleiden and member Sandra Merritt.
After reviewing a presentation given by gynecologist Alisa Goldberg at a 2014 Planned Parenthood conference, Smith said the abortion methods Goldberg described would force a woman into "tumultuous labor." The process would end in "fetal expulsion," in which "the fetus comes out without any assistance from the abortion doctor, no instrumentation."
"Very few people in abortion, outside of Planned Parenthood, do that," Smith said. "There's no question in my mind that at least some of these fetuses were live births."
"No question it's alive," he added.
These procedures, Smith said, result in death "by neglect" if doctors do not "institute promptly all resuscitative care" to the fetus. Still practicing abortions himself, Smith said he believes abortions should be performed in the "fastest, safest way" possible and only after informing the woman exactly what would happen.
Daleiden and Merritt are currently facing charges for allegedly invading Planned Parenthood's privacy by making and releasing videos of the abortion provider's employees discussing the sale of fetal tissue and organs. The two have argued the videos were filmed legally, under a clause allowing the covert collection of evidence in the investigation of violent crimes.
Daleiden told LifeSiteNews Smith's testimony was "powerful."
"I think it was very clarifying for everyone in the courtroom to understand how Planned Parenthood in their fetal organ and tissue harvesting programs are violating all kinds of medical ethics, laws and standards of patients care," he said.
Partial-birth and post-partum abortions became a national issue when Democratic lawmakers in the Virginia House of Delegates attempted to pass a bill in January that would allow abortions up to the moment of birth.
Virginia governor Ralph Northam (D.) appeared to extend that position, seemingly endorsing infanticide in a radio interview on Jan. 30.
"If a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen. The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother," Northam said.