The Story behind the Picture

Ten years ago, photojournalist Michael Clancy snapped a picture that dramatically changed his life and astonished the world. The picture of unborn child Samuel Armas reaching out and grasping the finger of his doctor during surgery captured the earliest human interaction ever recorded in history. Samuel was only 21 weeks old from conception when he underwent that operation to correct his spina bifida.

The riveting story behind the picture was told by Mr. Clancy, the man behind the camera that day, to over 200 guests at the Hamilton Right to Life dinner held last month. Mr. Clancy from Nashville, Tenessee, has become a strong advocate for the unborn since taking the now famous photo, which has been published throughout the world.

After becoming a photographer, Clancy worked for a small time newspaper and then began a freelance career. “I received the phone call from USA Today to photograph this incredible surgical procedure on an unborn child,” said Clancy. “This was going from a circulation of 23,000 for a small paper to shooting for the largest newspaper in the world with a circulation of 2.3 million.”

Clancy will never forget what he witnessed in the operating room the day of that rare medical surgery, led by maternal-foetal specialist and pioneer Dr. Joseph Bruner. Just over one hour into the operation, when the critical part was over, Clancy saw the uterus shake. “It just shook. It shook violently but no one was near it. It was shaking from within, it had to be. Immediately, this little fist comes flying out of the opening, and this little unborn child’s arm was flailing back and forth. “ At that moment, Clancy and Dr. Bruner looked right at each other. Dr. Bruner reacted and reached over to the flailing arm. “I reacted and put my camera to my face. As Dr. Bruner made contact with Samuel’s little hand, I shot the first frame of a four frame sequence,” recalls Clancy.

Clancy was instructed to send the raw film to USA Today, not knowing if his pictures turned out until a photo editor called him and said, “It’s the most incredible picture I’ve ever seen.” It was first published in USA Today September 7, 1999.

Before the operation, Michael Clancy supported a woman’s right to have an abortion. But he has completely changed his position. “After witnessing Samuel’s struggle for life, there is absolutely no doubt that at 21 weeks in the womb, the child is a reactive human being and deserves legal protection, and I will fight the rest of my life to see that that happens,” he said.

The photograph was used during the debate on partial-birth abortion in the U.S. Clancy was asked to testify in Washington before a Senate sub-committee hearing. Seated beside him was Samuel, the little boy he had captured on film reaching out from his mother’s womb. The White House later invited Clancy to be present during the signing of the law that banned partial-birth abortion.

Clancy has created a website www.michaelclancy.com where millions of people have been touched by his picture. Many emails sent to him are tragically from post-abortive women, but there are also many from women who have changed their mind about having an abortion after seeing the picture. He has been shocked too by hate mail from those who fear the picture hurts their pro-abortion stand.

Clancy says it took him 7 years before he could muster the courage to publicly share his experience, telling an incredible story that continues to unfold. “I will not give up until everyone knows the story behind the picture of the little boy that reached from the womb and changed the world.”

Marlene Tersigni, Executive Assistant of the St. Catharines Right to Life Association