Fox News has exclusively interviewed "Penny," the woman Florida governor and US Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis mentioned in last week's GOP presidential debate.
Her real name is Miriam Hopper, and her appearance on the network was in response to the presidential hopeful's critics who discredited her story and existence.
During the debate, DeSantis told Hopper's story who allegedly survived multiple abortion attempts and was left discarded in a pan in 1955.
Hopper said her mother was profoundly bleeding and the doctor attending her parents had not detected her heartbeat and suggested they terminate the pregnancy.
However, she detailed she survived the ordeal after her grandmother saved her and brought her to a different hospital for natal treatment.
The details of Hopper's account could not be fully verified.
Hopper: 'I Existed'
It was after mentioning this story that DeSantis's detractors on social media quickly dismissed Hopper's story, with some of them accusing the governor of lying.
Former GOP consultant and The Lincoln Project co-founder Steve Schmidt called Hopper's story of being found in a pan by her grandmother ludicrous, while liberal journalist Jill Filipovic called the story bizarre and impossible.
Hopper, a 67-year-old Florida resident, said she already existed at 23 weeks. She added that she was fortunate to be alive as there were thousands of abortion survivors globally who have stories similar to hers.
Hopper's Story Complicated, Experts Say
Hopper's story was featured in a pro-life ad by Faces of Choice during the 2020 March for Life in Washington DC.
The organization's founder and executive director, Lyric Gillett, said she made contact with Hopper through Abortion Survivors Network founder and CEO Melissa Ohden.
Abortion Survivors Network is a support and advocacy group for individuals who have survived abortions when they were infants.
The alleged abortion survivor admitted she did not watch the GOP debate but was excited, shocked, and humbled to learn DeSantis shared her story on national television.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported that Hopper's story first appeared in a newspaper article documenting her recovery after the ordeal in 1956.
Several gynecologists have since indicated their speculation with Hopper's story, saying the 1950s was a different time and the methods of detecting a heartbeat were not as refined as in the 21st century.
They raised questions on the details of Hopper's gestational age at birth, saying her recorded birth weight more likely matched a fetus several weeks further, at around 26 or 27 weeks. They added that the lungs are not developed enough to breathe at 23 weeks without intense assistance, making it improbable such an infant could survive abandonment for hours outdoors.
As far as Colorado maternal-fetal medicine physician Leilah Zahedi-Spung was concerned, because the fetus was presumed dead during the ordeal, the procedure performed in the hospital would not be considered an abortion.
In addition, pregnancies and their records were very difficult to accurately date in the 1950s as they predated the medical use of ultrasounds.
Hopper acknowledged there was little documentation about her birth aside from newspaper clippings since her parents have since died and her county would not share her birth records. However, she confirmed DeSantis was referring to her story but would not say whether she and the governor have already met or spoken, stating that her story was strictly about abortion and surviving it and not about politics.
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