re: #746 Charles

That’s a real photo, but the claims made about it are exaggerated and false: snopes.com: Fetal Surgery Photo.

Curiouser and curiouser. Snopes stated that the hand just “flopped out” and was “tucked back in,” almost as if the tiny hand had no life to it. The series of photos in the photographer’s slideshow tells a different tale.

Here’s a quote from Photographer Michael Clancy’s Website giving his personal impression of the finger-grasping scene:

During a spina bifida corrective procedure at twenty-one weeks in utero, Samuel thrusts his tiny hand out of the surgical opening of his mother’s uterus. As the doctor lifts his hand, Samuel reacts to the touch and squeezes the doctor’s finger. As if testing for strength, the doctor shakes the tiny fist. Samuel held firm. At that moment, I took this “Fetal Hand Grasp” photo.

As a photojournalist, my job is to tell stories through pictures. The experience of taking this photograph has had a profound effect on me, and I’m proud to share this moment with you. Michael Clancy

There’s more to this story than Snopes lets on. Read about Michael Clancy’s frustration on how he scooped Life Magazine by taking these photos, and how the ensuing battle blunted his career:

“I went on to freelance for four years after the picture. It was very difficult after Dr. Bruner’s statements questioning my credibility. Eventually I could not continue and stopped photojournalism in September 2003. I have become obsessed with proving to the world that I did capture the earliest interaction ever recorded.

Please study the three frames that were taken in sequence in the slide show. These frames were taken at 1/60th of a sec. as fast as my Canon 1N motor drive could shoot. The motion blur in the third frame explains what is happening. Watch Dr. Bruner’s fingers, compare the first two frames to the third frame. The doctor’s fingers are blurred because he is shaking them up and down in the third frame. The motion blur on Samuel’s hand transfers to the upper part of his wrist as he grasps the doctor’s finger. The only
possibly way Samuel’s fingers are sharp, (in focus), are for Samuel to be winning in this exchange of human energy.

Notice in the third frame, the right side of the surgical opening. The edges are smooth. Now notice above Samuel’s hand. You can see the surgical edge was damaged as Samuel thrust his hand out.

I didn’t count on you before……now…….I am counting on you. The people of this great country. Study the three frames carefully. If you believe what you see, demand answers from Dr. Bruner, Dr. Tulipan, the medical staff at Vanderbilt University Medical Center that was present during this procedure
on Samuel. Ask questions. … Have you ever seen a child reach out?”

In photograph #3, the tiny hand is plainly closing on the finger, compared to the other two photos. For whatever reason, the surgeon (Dr. Bruner) later made a damaging statement — which doesn’t agree with what you see in the photographs — that effectively ruined Michael Clancy’s career as a photographer.

It happens…
.