02/26/2019
This post is long so please bear with me. I have been following the recent abortion law changes in states and now at the federal level. As I understand things, if the baby is felt to be in a physical state that is not conducive to life after birth or if the mother does not have the mental capacity to accept a child into this world, a third trimester abortion can be performed. A third trimester abortion means that the potential exists for the child to be born alive unless procedures during the abortion in utero are performed before the birth. A bill has been placed before Congress that includes in part a fine for physicians who do not attempt to sustain life for a viable newborn.
1. Care given to a terminally ill newborn can include comfort measures only with time for the needs of the parents
2. I am aware of no options for terminating the life of the child after the birth AND I HAVE SEEN THIS HAPPEN. My story is that we had a pregnancy woman come in who had contracted an infection after eating tainted cheese while in California. The physician told her the baby would not be viable upon birth. I did not attend the labor but shortly afterwards after the mother had been moved to a postpartum room, the LPN came and said “Joan, that baby is breathing.” I went back to the dirty utility room where this child was gasping for breath while lying in a cold, steel utility basin. I wrapped him up in a warm blanker and called the doctor. The doctor came back to the hospital and I had my back to her cleaning instruments when I turned around and saw her suffocating the baby. She looked at me and said, “Joan, these parents can not afford a sick baby.” She alone had the opportunity to spare that life and let those parents know they had a baby that they could hold and comfort while he died, or make the decision for further intervention. They never had that chance. I was devastated and still can’t get that image out of my mind.
3. Regarding termination of a baby that is not perfect. I totally understand the horror in that decision-making process. I want to share another story of my career with a little twist. While directing a prenatal clinic, I cared for a woman who had 13 pregnancies, none of which brought forth a viable child. She was a migrant worker and had been seeing me regularly. One of her tests came back that showed she had a child with no functioning brain stem…”ancephalic” which is not compatible with life. The physician wanted me to schedule her for a therapeutic abortion in this Catholic hospital. I did not feel comfortable without him counselling the patient first…he just wanted her to show up at the hospital. I went to the VP for Mission and she said the procedure could not be done in the hospital and the patient did need to be consulted and then referred out. Upon a discussion with the patient, she did not want a therapeutic abortion and wanted to proceed with the pregnancy knowing that she would have a miracle baby. The physician was irate and told me he would no longer see the patient and I would have to see her. Each visit the patient would present, listen to the strengths of the heart beat, see that the baby grew according to expectations, and felt that everything would be fine. The large safety pin on her waist was suppose to help too. When the patient went into labor that particular physician was out of town so another one called me and asked me to come up and be with the mother in labor. A baby girl was born, breathed on her own, had a beautiful head of brown hair, and underneath it the flat, undeveloped head. We provided comfort measures, baby stayed with mom and dad, and hour followed hour with their tender care of their child. After 53 hours of life, that precious child died. The mother told me that she indeed had her miracle. She had a child to care for even if for 53 hours. The difference in these two stories is that in the first one the parents had no say in the life or death of their child while in the second the mother made her decision and felt she received what she asked for. A few hours with her newborn, a lifetime of memories.
I cannot make decisions for anyone. I can only tell my stories.
If you read to the end of this long post, thank you.
