Question for those who oppose abortion in the case of the mother's life

[KingsGambit]

I know there are some pro-life people here who are against abortion even in the case of the mother's life (or who claim this does not exist). Scott Walker made some headlines yesterday for taking that stance.

My question for those of you: What do you recommend in the case of an ectopic pregnancy? I don't buy the reasoning that it's not really abortion.

[Christianbookworm]

Ectopic pregnancies are just tragic. There isn't any way to save the embryo with current technology. If we someday had a viable artificial womb or a viable means to implant the embryo where they should have implanted, then saving the baby might be possible. Of course the life of the mother exception does not make brutally killing the baby okay. Emergency c-section, yes. Like if a mother had sever ecclampsia at 20-23 weeks, deliering the baby will likely result in the baby dying, but one would not tear the baby to peices.

[Cow Poke]

[Jedidiah]

I know there are some pro-life people here who are against abortion even in the case of the mother's life (or who claim this does not exist). Scott Walker made some headlines yesterday for taking that stance.

My question for those of you: What do you recommend in the case of an ectopic pregnancy? I don't buy the reasoning that it's not really abortion.

My understanding is that an ectopic pregnancy is totally hopeless for the baby in any case. Is that incorrect?

[tabibito]

My understanding is that an ectopic pregnancy is totally hopeless for the baby in any case. Is that incorrect?

Nope.
Either the placenta won't be able to get enough of the mother's blood supply to support development, or the fallopian tube, being unable to expand well enough to accommodate the growing foetus, will rupture - killing the mother through blood loss.
Untreated, assuming the foetus did not die first, the pregnancy would inevitably kill the mother long before the foetus could reach the stage of viability.

[Spartacus]

I seem to remember there being some sort of argument passed around in Catholic circles about the principle of double effect. I'd have to research it to be able to repeat it, though.

[JonathanL]

. . . double effect. . . . repeat it . . .

[tabibito]

I seem to remember there being some sort of argument passed around in Catholic circles about the principle of double effect. I'd have to research it to be able to repeat it, though.

Interesting. I've never encountered the term before, but it would seem that a lawyer could shoehorn any abortion into seeming conformance with the explanation I just read.

[Catholicity]

There are some rare cases although ectopic pregnancy (dangerous and may kill the mother too,) has to be surgically removed from the fallopian tube. Eclampsia they have to do emergency c-sections ditto with HELLP syndrome. Sometimes the baby can be saved if its 22 weeks or later.
There are cases of cancer or lupus or rare other diseases where the mother may need or choose treatment and choose to discontinue pregnancy and if its after 10? weeks options other than a D and C are available I think. Obviously later than 22-23 weeks the baby can survive and there is no need to discuss abortion.

[Christianbookworm]

I would think inducing labor/c-section would be the best option. No need to rip a baby to pieces!

[QuantaFille]

If I personally had an ectopic pregnancy happen to me, I would try to find a doctor who would be willing to experiment on me to develop new methods to help. I would not, under any circumstances, have the baby killed. I couldn't do it. I would not be able to live with myself, knowing I was only alive because I had someone take the life of my child. If the experiment does not work and I and/or the baby die after all, then at least medical science will have been advanced a little further and the knowledge gained will eventually help others. I'd rather do something than do nothing at all.

[Teallaura]

I wonder if it would be possible to simply invert the tube. Pull it into the womb like a sleeve being pulled into a shirt . The baby would be on the 'outside' of the tube and inside the womb eliminating the risk of rupture of the tube.

[QuantaFille]

I wonder if it would be possible to simply invert the tube. Pull it into the womb like a sleeve being pulled into a shirt . The baby would be on the 'outside' of the tube and inside the womb eliminating the risk of rupture of the tube.

The placenta grows where implantation takes place, and there's not enough surface area on the inside of the tube to support one. They'd have to figure out how to make the placenta transfer to the inside surface of the uterus.