Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
Abortion to Save the Life of the Mother?

Abortion to Save the Life of the Mother?

Last updated on: May 4, 2022 at 11:52 am by Jennifer Fitz

Abortion to Save the Life of the Mother? 2022-05-04T11:52:44-05:00 Jennifer Fitz

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The most compelling question in favor of abortion is, “What about to save the life of the mother?”

The answer is straightforward, and fundamentally agrees with the pro-choice position, only minus the intentional-killing-of-the-baby part: If the mother’s life is truly in danger, then delivering the baby early (even before viability), followed by palliative and/or life-saving care for the baby, is a possible moral option.

Abortion is not necessary.

The reality of caring for the baby after delivery, rather than discarding it like medical waste, is a natural feedback mechanism for answering the questions that come into play:

Just how much danger is the mother in?
Is it possible to wait any longer before delivery?
Does the mother have a chance of saving the baby at all? If so, how does she think it is best to proceed in this particular and intensely difficult situation?

On this last point, for example, in the case of ectopic pregnancy, it is usually the case that the baby has no chance of survival, but the danger to the mother is grave. This is one of the rare cases where saving the life of the mother is a legitimate reason to remove the baby long before viability. It is a fairly clear decision, ethically and medically, as these things go.

In contrast, a mother who, say, is diagnosed with a serious condition at 18 weeks, but with a varying set of prognoses based on how long she puts off treatment, will have to weigh many factors in deciding from week to week (or day to day, hour to hour) whether now is the time to deliver or if waiting just a little longer to give the baby more time to grow would be a prudent course of action, even though doing so increases the risk to herself.

This is an example where (depending on the circumstances) a variety of possible courses of action could all be moral, from delivering at 18 weeks even though it’s virtually impossible the baby will survive to prolonging the pregnancy indefinitely despite the risks to the mother. In all cases, delivery does not require directly killing the baby; after delivery, the baby should always receive palliative care, as well as life-saving care if possible.

***

These are tragic situations. When the mother’s life is truly in danger, there are no magic endings that can take away the reality that she is at grave risk if she continues the pregnancy. But that reality does not mean she must resort to directly killing her child. It is cruel for doctors to pressure her to abort rather than exploring every possible avenue for early delivery without direct killing. When you are facing a medical nightmare, the last thing you want as a parent is for your child’s last moments to be violent and painful.

***

While much of the pro-abortion rhetoric on this issue is disingenuous, pro-life legislation should legitimately include protections for mothers and physicians in the difficult position of having to treat a life-threatening condition during pregnancy.

This does not mean that abortion is needed. It does mean that doctors and mothers should be protected from prosecution in the event of:

Early delivery, even before viability, to save the life of the mother.
D&C, misoprostol, or other interventions often associated with abortion, but which are sometimes necessary treatments after miscarriage as well.
Other legitimate interventions to protect the life of the mother that are not intended to directly cause the death of the baby, even if they are likely to result in the baby’s death.

Legislation can specify that a birth certificate be issued, palliative care be documented, and so forth.

***

Pro-lifers may be nervous about this kind of legislation. What if someone uses it as cover for stealth abortions? “Just go get an ‘early delivery’ wink wink” risks becoming the new workaround for abortion.

Well, that’s a risk. It’s also a practice that’s relatively easy to detect on investigation, if a physician is repeatedly fabricating medical documentation to justify ‘early delivery’ in otherwise healthy mothers.

A good law will protect physicians and patients who have to make emergency decisions with limited information, including the reality that there will sometimes be one-off situations where the medical team may have to make a difficult judgment call in a rare scenario.

Most of the time, though, the cases where premature delivery is necessary to save the life of the mother are fairly well-known situations that are easily attested to by a quick records-review if there be any doubt. As with any other area of medicine, a single incident is quite different from a repeated pattern of shady practice, and the regulatory framework should recognize that.

A well-crafted law will rightly deter someone from running a tacit abortion mill, but will leave reputable physicians confident they can provide lifesaving care without fear.

Photo of a baby receiving “Kangaroo care” via Wikimedia, CC 4.0.

Catechesis

Catholic Q&A

Disability & Chronic Illness

Human Rights

It's All Catholic

Suffering

Previous Post

May 1, 2022

Free Speech is . . . Free

Next Post

May 15, 2022 Bishop Fabre-Jeune Ordination Links

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Books Catechesis Catholic Q&A Chastity Church Craziness Come See Me Talk Disability & Chronic Illness Economics Evangelization Facepalm Forgiveness Good Things History Homeschooling Human Rights It's All Catholic Listen to Me Survey Series Liturgical Living Marriage Modesty Not Satire. But almost. Rant-o-Rama Sacred Art & Music Satire South Carolina Spark Clutter Stick that Corner Suffering Thinking Topics Writing Stuff

Select a Month November 2026 October 2026 September 2026 July 2026 June 2026 January 2026 December 2025 September 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 November 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 May 2019 April 2019 February 2019 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What teaching is behind Jesus washing his disciples' feet?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Never serve Serve others Rule over them Seek power