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The picture is that
of a 21-week-old unborn baby named Samuel
Alexander Armas, who is being operated on by
surgeon named Joseph Bruner.

The baby was
diagnosed with spina bifida and would not
survive if removed from his mother's womb.
Little Samuel's mother, Julie Armas, is an
obstetrics nurse in Atlanta . She knew of Dr
Bruner's remarkable
Surgical procedure.
Practicing at Vanderbilt Univ Med Ctr in
Nashville , he performs these special operations
while the baby is still in the
womb.

During the procedure, the doctor
removes the uterus via C-section and makes a
small incision to operate on the baby. As Dr
Bruner completed the surgery on Samuel, the
little guy reached his tiny, but fully
developed
Hand through the incision and
firmly grasped the surgeon's finger. Dr Bruner
was reported as saying that when his finger was
grasped, it was the most emotional moment of his
life, and that for an instant during the
procedure he was just frozen, totally immobile.


The photograph captures this amazing
event with perfect clarity The editors titled
the picture, 'Hand of Hope.' The text explaining
the picture begins, 'The tiny hand of
21-week-old fetus Samuel Alexander Armas emerges
from the mother's uterus to grasp the finger of
Dr Joseph Bruner as if thanking the doctor for
the gift of life.'

Little Samuel's
mother said they 'wept for days' when they saw
the picture. She said, 'The photo reminds us
pregnancy isn't about disability or an illness,
it's about a little person.'Samuel was born in
perfect health, the operation 100 percent
successful.

http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/b/babysamuel.htm


The Truth: The surgery cited in this story did take place, but the accounts of what actually happened are hotly disputed.

Dr. Joseph Bruner at Vanderbilt is known for his work in fetal surgery, especially on babies with spina bifida, a condition in which the spine does not close properly during development.

Vanderbilt confirms that little Samuel Armus was 21 weeks-old in the womb when this surgery took place in 1999, which made the surgery very risky because if anything went wrong, the baby could survive on its own. Dr. Bruner and his colleagues, however, had done numerous successful spina bifida surgeries on fetuses that are not yet viable.

In this particular surgery, photographer Michael Clancy was in the operating room to document surgery on such a young fetus.

Clancy said that "out of the corner of my eye I saw the uterus shake, but no one's hands were near it. It was shaking from within. Suddenly, an entire arm thrust out of the opening, then pulled back until just a little hand was showing. The doctor reached over and lifted the hand, which reacted and squeezed the doctor's finger. As if testing for strength, the doctor shook the tiny fist."

The picture became a sensation as a forwarded email especially among opponents of abortion. The surgeon, Dr. Bruner, told USA Today in 2000 that the picture was being treated like an urban legend and that he'd even received a report that a team of medical experts had called it a hoax. Bruner confirmed that the surgery and the photo were real but said that it was "not true" that the baby reached out of the womb and grabbed his hand, as some of the forwarded emails alleged. "Samuel and his mother, Julie, were under anesthesia and could not move," he said. "The baby did not reach out. The baby was anesthetized. The baby was not aware of what was going on."

Michael Clancy, who owns the copyright to the photo, was stunned by Bruner's comments and maintains that they do not fit what he saw happen during the surgery and when he took his pictures. On his website at www.michaelclancy.com, Clancy said he knows what he saw and also quoted a nurse at Vanderbilt who told him that she'd seen babies do that "all the time."

The surgery was successful and little Samuel Armas was born on December 2, 1999.





THE MORAL OF THE STORY: When you have to fabricate the facts, or pass on a fabrication of facts in order to persuade a point of view, then the point of view is weak to begin with.

Anyone else thinking "alien"?

Jus sayin

I totally did!

The sheer insanity of the anti-abortion crowd could not be more manifest.

The picture's gross kinda but it's heart-warming for something like that to happen.

i wasnt thinking alien, but rather It's Alive!

people r gross dude. imagine if we figured out how to keep babies alive when they have gills and we throw em into the ocean and create our own MERPEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!! holy shit dude! i swear its not just because im high.. awesome! .

I can't help thinking of the Biblical story of baby Jacob grasping the heel of his brother Esau as their mother Rebekah, the wife of Isaac, was giving birth.

Looks like G_force is trying to promote his aint-abortion agenda. You'd think after 10 years they might have better evidence.

Thanks Armydude, nice moral.

Free choice to all.

My Plan "C"

NotThatOld saidI can't help thinking of the Biblical story of baby Jacob grasping the heel of his brother Esau as their mother Rebekah, the wife of Isaac, was giving birth.

Oh please keep that nonsense to the "spirituality" forum where it belongs!
Where we heathens dare not pass!
-Keith

I was just awed by this and the amazing development of life in the womb. I do have ultrasound photos of my own child at only 12 weeks, and the pictures clearly show a very human form. She's 18 now. I have to admit the most awesome experience in my life was to witness with my own eyes her birth. I have not experienced nothing more astounding than this. Medical technology is rapidly advancing more than we can possibly comprehend. It definitely is changing the way we view human life.

Ummmm .....

In case you didn't know babies are born with a clutch reflex

Interesting article... definitely a little sugar coated for the anti-abortionists, but I think that clear to both sides.

What I am wondering now, how do they determine when its a living person worth saving, rather than just a fetus? At how many weeks is abortion no longer aloud? At how many weeks is it considered to be a life worth having surgery?

I can't help put think of the harry potter story where Dumbledore made the candles float in the cafeterium and pumpkin juice appeared from thin air

False belief systems and their followers, have long used questionable propaganda as a tool to manipulate other weak minded folks.

Many organisms (including plants) have reflex responses. So?

I'm not sure I'd file this under "Gay News and Events." A more suitable topic header might be "More Voodoo From The Religious Right."

Oh my gosh it's like in the movie "Alien". This this really happened?

I know the OP has a penchant for posting pics of younger men, er, boys, but this is ridiculous.

GQjock saidUmmmm .....

In case you didn't know babies are born with a clutch reflex

and a gag reflex

chuckystud saidFalse belief systems and their followers, have long used questionable propaganda as a tool to manipulate other weak minded folks.

Many organisms (including plants) have reflex responses. So?

I'm not sure I'd file this under "Gay News and Events." A more suitable topic header might be "More Voodoo From The Religious Right."

Where do you see any religion in this surgical procedure performed on this fetus? This is about the advancement of medical technology, which has allowed us to perform surgery on the unborn. No religion is even mentioned here.

MunchingZombie said

GQjock saidUmmmm .....

In case you didn't know babies are born with a clutch reflex

and a gag reflex

And air peeing!

TigerTim saidThe sheer insanity of the anti-abortion crowd could not be more manifest.

I find it more insane that a civilized society would suck that little guy out of his Mom with a vacuum. Are you shocked to see there is an actual human inside the belly? Better keep this pic under wraps so we can continue to marginalize the "fetus" as something non-human.

USMmmm said

TigerTim saidThe sheer insanity of the anti-abortion crowd could not be more manifest.

I find it more insane that a civilized society would suck that little guy out of his Mom with a vacuum. Are you shocked to see there is an actual human inside the belly? Better keep this pic under wraps so we can continue to marginalize the "fetus" as something non-human.

I agree. We've legalized murder on the unborn and that is insanity.