Denying Abortion Despite Risk to Woman's Health

[BlueChair]

We've spoken here about how fundies would support denying abortions even when the mother's health is at great risk, and that point was brought up again in a thread over the weekend. A friend of mine just posted this on Facebook and it shows what the reality of that actually looks like. It's not often that I read something and actually feel sick to my stomach.

L.C. is a Peruvian girl who took her fight for a legal abortion to the United Nations. At age 13 she was impregnated by a man who had been raping her for 2 years; distraught & ashamed she jumped off a roof & was severely injured. The hospital refused to operate on her injured spine because of her pregnancy; she demanded an abortion & the spine surgery but was refused. Sadly, she eventually miscarried & was left quadriplegic because the spine surgery was performed months after her injury. L.C. contacted a reproductive rights group who took her case to the UN; the UN demanded Peru legalize abortion--asserting that the denial of abortion is discrimination--and pay reparations to L.C. for her suffering.

[eohiken]

disgusting. Throwing away a woman (a child really!), because of a fetus.

[2xx1xy1JD]

Sadly, it's not just in Peru.

My husband couldn't find a place in Toronto that was willing and able to do an abortion at 14 weeks for a woman with unstable lupus. She had to be transferred to another city. At one point, he was getting so desperate and angry that he was about to ask her for permission to go to the media.

I know of another situation in Canada where a woman died one week after her water broke at 20 weeks. She was admitted to a Catholic hospital with a raging infection - antibiotics were given, but she was not operated on since there was still a fetal heartbeat.

[MonkeyMomma]

Sadly, it's not just in Peru.

My husband couldn't find a place in Toronto that was willing and able to do an abortion at 14 weeks for a woman with unstable lupus. She had to be transferred to another city. At one point, he was getting so desperate and angry that he was about to ask her for permission to go to the media.

I know of another situation in Canada where a woman died one week after her water broke at 20 weeks. She was admitted to a Catholic hospital with a raging infection - antibiotics were given, but she was not operated on since there was still a fetal heartbeat.

Twenty weeks gestation, infection ... isn't this the exact situation where "good Catholic" Karen Santorum was able to receive a life-saving induction?

[BlueChair]

I think those that would like to ban abortion even in cases where the mother's health is jeopardized hold this romanticized view of a mother laying down her life for her child or some such bs. These true scenarios blow that romanticized view right out of the water.

[bananacat]

Is it possible to change post titles? A woman isn't a mother the second she gets pregnant, and I don't like the way this framing excludes pregnant women who don't already have children. It's better to just refer to pregnant women as women, so it would be a woman's life at risk, but not necessarily a mother's.

[BlueChair]

Is it possible to change post titles? A woman isn't a mother the second she gets pregnant, and I don't like the way this framing excludes pregnant women who don't already have children. It's better to just refer to pregnant women as women, so it would be a woman's life at risk, but not necessarily a mother's.

You are absolutely right, and I changed it. And thanks because I appreciate it when people take the time to point out how to phrase, see, and understand things better.

[bananacat]

Great, thanks! Sometimes I feel like I'm being mean or nit-picky, but this is just really important to me. Thanks for being understanding.

[BravaAmica]

Twenty weeks gestation, infection ... isn't this the exact situation where "good Catholic" Karen Santorum was able to receive a life-saving induction?

Yes, yes it is.

[Katiebug]

Twenty weeks gestation, infection ... isn't this the exact situation where "good Catholic" Karen Santorum was able to receive a life-saving induction?

Yes. And it's the sort of situation for which my mother always told me to NEVER go to a Catholic hospital for obstetric or even routine gynecological care; when the stuff hits the proverbial fan the doctors are usually limited in some ways to treatments that the Church approves of. Take the example of an ectopic pregnancy; the normal standard of care is to offer methotrexate if possible because it's non-surgical and it can spare the tube and preserve fertility. Not at a Catholic hospital - the only allowable treatment is surgery which takes a Fallopian tube and can affect future fertility. And it can get a lot messier and more dangerous than that, too.

When I was looking for an OBGYN prior to getting pregnant, I got recommendations and then explicitly ruled out the handful on my list that had privileges at a Catholic hospital. Fortunately we live in an area with a number of excellent hospitals within a reasonable distance.

[RR88]

That story is nauseating. It's difficult for me to imagine a society in which a fetus takes precedence over an "already-here" person, a society in which girls or women are expected to be effectively raped for nine months as they carry and birth the results of violent assaults.

[Elle]

I'm pro-life, but not the kind who thinks someone who DIE. If the mother is going to die, the baby will die. Preserve the mother's life if she can be saved. It's cruel to expect two to die if one will die no matter what and the other can be saved.

[Minerva]

Sadly, it's not just in Peru.

My husband couldn't find a place in Toronto that was willing and able to do an abortion at 14 weeks for a woman with unstable lupus. She had to be transferred to another city. At one point, he was getting so desperate and angry that he was about to ask her for permission to go to the media.

I know of another situation in Canada where a woman died one week after her water broke at 20 weeks. She was admitted to a Catholic hospital with a raging infection - antibiotics were given, but she was not operated on since there was still a fetal heartbeat.

This happens in Canada?! Shit, and here I thought our only threat was the occasional anti-choice bill that even the Conservatives mostly vote against. I also didn't know that there was such a lack of abortion services in Toronto of all places.

P.S. If you're Canadian, write to your MP and tell them to vote against Stephen Woodworth's bullshit anti-choice motion!

[2xx1xy1JD]

This happens in Canada?! Shit, and here I thought our only threat was the occasional anti-choice bill that even the Conservatives mostly vote against. I also didn't know that there was such a lack of abortion services in Toronto of all places.

P.S. If you're Canadian, write to your MP and tell them to vote against Stephen Woodworth's bullshit anti-choice motion!

Finding a clinic to do an uncomplicated first-trimester abortion in Toronto isn't a problem. Finding a hospital that can handle a 14 week abortion for a woman with a more complicated medical history is.

I only know of these examples because I have family members who vented. I wonder what flies under the radar. For example, I'm sure someone told the family of the woman who died at 20 weeks gestation, "I'm sorry, we did everything we could..."

[Minerva]

Finding a clinic to do an uncomplicated first-trimester abortion in Toronto isn't a problem. Finding a hospital that can handle a 14 week abortion for a woman with a more complicated medical history is.

I only know of these examples because I have family members who vented. I wonder what flies under the radar. For example, I'm sure someone told the family of the woman who died at 20 weeks gestation, "I'm sorry, we did everything we could..."

Oh I see. I think the clinic in my town refers you to the hospital if you have so much as a latex allergy, which sucks because their services are a lot more respectful than the hospital and anesthetic is mandatory at the hospital.

[luv2laugh]

How horrific. That poor girl. That story has made me sick and ruined my night of studying... ugh...