TIME Names Owner Of Infamous Abortion Clinic One Of 2025’s ‘100 Most Influential People’

In its list of the “100 Most Influential People of 2025,” which is chock-full of leftist personalities, TIME included Julie Burkhart, the co-owner of the Hope Clinic in Granite City, Illinois, which proudly offers abortions up to the 28th week of pregnancy.

In an astonishing choice of words, the Hope Clinic calls the baby in utero at 27 weeks, “pregnancy tissue,” writing, “An abortion procedure also known as ‘surgical abortion’ or ‘in-clinic abortion’ is a simple, safe procedure that involves a pelvic exam, dilation of the cervix, and removal of the pregnancy tissue through vacuum aspiration and additional instruments,” adding, “Abortion procedures done at the Hope Clinic after 16 weeks are typically done over 2-3 consecutive clinic visits. The procedure consists of dilation of the cervix followed by removal of the pregnancy with suction in combination with the use of other special instruments (dilation and evacuation – D&E).”

For testimony as to how brutal a dilation and evacuation (D&E) in the second trimester can be for the baby, see here. The D&E procedure is explained this way:

The abortionist inserts a large suction catheter into the uterus and turns it on, emptying the amniotic fluid. After the amniotic fluid is removed, the abortionist uses a sopher clamp — a grasping instrument with rows of sharp “teeth” — to grasp and pull the baby’s arms and legs, tearing the limbs from the child’s body. The abortionist continues to grasp intestines, spine, heart, lungs, and any other limbs or body parts. The most difficult part of the procedure is usually finding, grasping and crushing the baby’s head. After removing pieces of the child’s skull, the abortionist uses a curette to scrape the uterus and remove the placenta and any remaining parts of the baby.

Foundations of Life explains the “vacuum aspiration” thus:

Dilation and Extraction (D&X) (partial-birth abortion): from 20 weeks after LMP to full-term: This procedure takes three days. During the first two days, the cervix is stretched open using thin rods made of seaweed, and medication is given for pain. On the third day, the abortion doctor uses ultrasound to locate the legs of the fetus. Grasping a leg with forceps, the doctor delivers the fetus up to the head. Next, scissors are inserted into the base of the skull to create an opening. A suction catheter is placed into the opening to remove the brain. The skull collapses and the fetus is removed.

Time said of Burkhart that she “has been fighting for decades to provide abortions in some of the most rural and conservative areas of the U.S. … She’s now the co-owner of Hope Clinic in Illinois, which has seen a 700% increase in out-of-state patients since abortion restrictions went into effect in neighboring states. Burkhart is devoted to making sure patients can get abortion care, no matter where they live.”