Partial Birth abortions

[Catholicity]

there's a couple of rare types of lupus which can onset late in pregnancy however the solution is to induce and allow the baby to live the rest of its natural life. this does result in death but not in termination nor an intentional murder.

[Jedidiah]

I don't have any specific current medical knowledge about this, but I do have a story about my grandmother's pregnancy with my mother, which was obviously many, many years ago. While my grandmother's Catholic doctor was on vacation, my grandmother went to see another doctor who told her that she had a very irregular pregnancy and that the fetus would not be able to survive and that she should have an abortion very soon to save her own life. My grandmother decided to wait until her Catholic doctor was back in town. A relative was a nurse and tried to convince my grandmother that she had to have the abortion and told that if she did not have it right away, she would die. My grandmother said, 'well, then, I'll die'. When the Catholic doctor was back in town, he counseled a wait-and-see approach and said that with rest and prayer there was a chance that the pregnancy would normalize and become safe, which is, of course, what happened--otherwise I would not be here. I heard the story a few times while growing up, but it was not until I was a young adult that I began to appreciate how courageous (and stubborn) my grandmother was and she became an example of faith, hope, and prayer for me. She was more opinionated on church matters than was the normal fashion for Catholics of the time, especially women I suppose, but she had earned that status as an witness to what it means to live a life of moral vision and courage.

A few similar stories have surfaced over the years. Who knows how many babies were killed over false information like this?

[Jedidiah]

What is an example of a case where the mother's life is in danger?

I do not know of any, nor have I actually heard of any. I have heard stories of women who chose not to accept treatment for something. They if these are real, chose to save their baby rather than themselves.

[Jedidiah]

I think it is going to take one or two first world countries to have the courage to declare the unborn as actual members of our species for the rest to come along behind them and overturn this barbaric practice.

I question the existence of any first world nation with the moral courage to do that. Sure does not seem to be the once great United States of America.

[Zymologist]

I don't have any specific current medical knowledge about this, but I do have a story about my grandmother's pregnancy with my mother, which was obviously many, many years ago. While my grandmother's Catholic doctor was on vacation, my grandmother went to see another doctor who told her that she had a very irregular pregnancy and that the fetus would not be able to survive and that she should have an abortion very soon to save her own life. My grandmother decided to wait until her Catholic doctor was back in town. A relative was a nurse and tried to convince my grandmother that she had to have the abortion and told that if she did not have it right away, she would die. My grandmother said, 'well, then, I'll die'. When the Catholic doctor was back in town, he counseled a wait-and-see approach and said that with rest and prayer there was a chance that the pregnancy would normalize and become safe, which is, of course, what happened--otherwise I would not be here. I heard the story a few times while growing up, but it was not until I was a young adult that I began to appreciate how courageous (and stubborn) my grandmother was and she became an example of faith, hope, and prayer for me. She was more opinionated on church matters than was the normal fashion for Catholics of the time, especially women I suppose, but she had earned that status as an witness to what it means to live a life of moral vision and courage.

Great story. Thanks.

[Cow Poke]

I don't have any specific current medical knowledge about this, but I do have a story about my grandmother's pregnancy with my mother, which was obviously many, many years ago. While my grandmother's Catholic doctor was on vacation, my grandmother went to see another doctor who told her that she had a very irregular pregnancy and that the fetus would not be able to survive and that she should have an abortion very soon to save her own life. My grandmother decided to wait until her Catholic doctor was back in town. A relative was a nurse and tried to convince my grandmother that she had to have the abortion and told that if she did not have it right away, she would die. My grandmother said, 'well, then, I'll die'. When the Catholic doctor was back in town, he counseled a wait-and-see approach and said that with rest and prayer there was a chance that the pregnancy would normalize and become safe, which is, of course, what happened--otherwise I would not be here. I heard the story a few times while growing up, but it was not until I was a young adult that I began to appreciate how courageous (and stubborn) my grandmother was and she became an example of faith, hope, and prayer for me. She was more opinionated on church matters than was the normal fashion for Catholics of the time, especially women I suppose, but she had earned that status as an witness to what it means to live a life of moral vision and courage.

I'm glad your gramma waited.

[robrecht]

I'm actually wondering if--rather than being few and far between--the circumstances even exist at all. Does anyone have any example in which an abortion was required to save a mother's life?

I don't have any specific current medical knowledge about this, but I do have a story about my grandmother's pregnancy with my mother, which was obviously many, many years ago. While my grandmother's Catholic doctor was on vacation, my grandmother went to see another doctor who told her that she had a very irregular pregnancy and that the fetus would not be able to survive and that she should have an abortion very soon to save her own life. My grandmother decided to wait until her Catholic doctor was back in town. A relative was a nurse and tried to convince my grandmother that she had to have the abortion and told that if she did not have it right away, she would die. My grandmother said, 'well, then, I'll die'. When the Catholic doctor was back in town, he counseled a wait-and-see approach and said that with rest and prayer there was a chance that the pregnancy would normalize and become safe, which is, of course, what happened--otherwise I would not be here. I heard the story a few times while growing up, but it was not until I was a young adult that I began to appreciate how courageous (and stubborn) my grandmother was and she became an example of faith, hope, and prayer for me. She was more opinionated on church matters than was the normal fashion for Catholics of the time, especially women I suppose, but she had earned that status as an witness to what it means to live a life of moral vision and courage.

[KingsGambit]

Ectopic pregnancies are usually terminated early, long before a D&X would be possible

Oh I know, I wasn't thinking in terms of a D&X, I was just thinking in terms of the broad category of termination for the mother's life sake at any point.

[Bill the Cat]

Ectopic pregnancies, but I understand in those cases there would be no way for the child to survive anyway, right?

Ectopic pregnancies are usually terminated early, long before a D&X would be possible

[KingsGambit]

Ectopic pregnancies, but I understand in those cases there would be no way for the child to survive anyway, right?

[Raphael]

I'm actually wondering if--rather than being few and far between--the circumstances even exist at all. Does anyone have any example in which an abortion was required to save a mother's life?

The closest I can think of is Cancer treatment, where the treatment will kill the baby, and no treatment will kill the mother.
And ectopic pregnancies as well although I understand they have made some breakthroughs there.

[Cow Poke]

Pro-death proponents don't need no stinkin' facts!

Sure they do, which is why they make up their own!

[mossrose]

From FactCheck.org:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System reported a higher number for pregnancy-related deaths for 2006-2007, the most recent statistics. It found that 1,294 deaths that occurred within a year of pregnancy termination were pregnancy-related. Why did these women die? There were several causes, including cardiovascular disease, hemorrhage, hypertension, infections and embolisms. A small percentage — 0.6 percent — died from complications related to anesthesia. And 5.6 percent died from unknown causes. That doesn’t mean that an abortion would have saved the life of the mother in those cases, but it does indicate that “modern technology and science” have not made it so women no longer risk death from pregnancy.

Pro-death proponents don't need no stinkin' facts!

[Bill the Cat]

I have never heard of any.

Of course, you could probably go to Planned Parenthood and they will have thousands of examples.

From FactCheck.org:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System reported a higher number for pregnancy-related deaths for 2006-2007, the most recent statistics. It found that 1,294 deaths that occurred within a year of pregnancy termination were pregnancy-related. Why did these women die? There were several causes, including cardiovascular disease, hemorrhage, hypertension, infections and embolisms. A small percentage — 0.6 percent — died from complications related to anesthesia. And 5.6 percent died from unknown causes. That doesn’t mean that an abortion would have saved the life of the mother in those cases, but it does indicate that “modern technology and science” have not made it so women no longer risk death from pregnancy.

[Bill the Cat]

I'm actually wondering if--rather than being few and far between--the circumstances even exist at all. Does anyone have any example in which an abortion was required to save a mother's life?

Guttmacher, a self-titled "reproduction research center", did not have statistics on abortions performed to save the life of the mother in any of their surveys.