farpadokly

I thought you only got excommunicated for something really serious, like trying to shoot the Pope.

6/11/2012 10:29:49 AM

rw23

Why did God set this up so that the foetus would be able to kill the mother? If He truly loved them, surely He'd want them both to live. What would be the point of giving life otherwise?

6/11/2012 11:00:47 AM

Pilotess

Are these people not aware that when the woman dies, the fetus dies too? So, we have (according to their believes) two dead people instead of just one. How can one twist this to be pro-life?

6/11/2012 2:20:53 PM

Xotan

I would not generally be in favour of abortion, especially as a means of family control. There are products that can achieve this without terminating incipient life.

HOWEVER

Where it comes down to the danger of a foetus killing its mother, that is an entirely different matter. The life of the mother is at least as sacred in absolute terms as that incipient life. Her life is of more immediate importance to her husband and any children they may have; to her parents and siblings too.

It is a tragic choice to have to make, but I hold that morally the woman's right to life in this situation must take priority. To fail to acknowledge this is to put one's mitre, with one's head deep into the sand of medieval bullshit.

Does the former Catholic nun have a case for loss of earnings due to veing reduced in earnings status on religious grounds?

6/11/2012 3:39:54 PM

Dan I

Mister Spak,

Not sure where you are getting your info but as a licensed Catechist I can tell you that you are wrong.

If the life of the mother necessistates an abortion, especially prior to viability, there is no sin. Abortion is permissible.

6/11/2012 3:52:11 PM

Burning Stake

I'm a medical assistant. Admittedly, however, I've yet to have a patient with this mother's condition, so I may not be completely accurate in the following comments.

To save the life of the mother? It's terrible, and traumatic for the patient, but it happens in real life. Meaning the best way to go about this is to explain things to the patient and their potential partner, and then let them make the decision about what they want to do, instead of forcing religious dogma into an already tragic and traumatic event.

According to the article, the patient had pulmonary hypertension(Wikipedia link), which "interferes with the ability of the heart and lungs to function and is often made fatal by pregnancy." Meaning the Sister was sure they would have both died anyway had this not been done. This Sister is awesome. Any other doctor would be considered "just doing their job" for doing this.

Effing morons.

6/11/2012 5:21:31 PM

Fundies Make Me Sick

This nun did the right thing. It's the higher ups that are the monsters.

6/12/2012 10:41:39 AM

Nagol

I'm happy that Ms. McBride values the life of a viable human being over a clump of cells that probably would have died with her anyway. Thomas J Olmsted and everyone like him are monsters for wanting to let a woman die for a fetus that wouldn't have even survived.

6/12/2012 10:44:37 AM

Willaien

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excommunication_of_Margaret_McBride

According to Wikipedia, she's no longer excommunicated. The hospital itself wouldn't budge, and refused to promise to never perform another abortion.

In December 2010, Olmsted announced that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix was severing its affiliation with the hospital, after months of discussion had failed to obtain from the hospital management a promise not to perform abortions in the future. "If we are presented with a situation in which a pregnancy threatens a woman's life, our first priority is to save both patients. If that is not possible, we will always save the life we can save, and that is what we did in this case," said hospital president Linda Hunt. "Morally, ethically, and legally, we simply cannot stand by and let someone die whose life we might be able to save."

6/13/2012 8:39:18 AM

NonProphet

@Willaien:
So, the hospital basically refused to break the law or violate basic human ethics to appease some jerk Bishop.

Good for them. I hope Ms. McBride is doing well.

6/13/2012 10:27:52 PM