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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: The Philosopher who wrote (78654)	11/5/2003 6:09:14 PM
From: Rambi	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 82486

Wasn't the number of actual PBAs performed in a year very, very low- even miniscule? It seems to me that this outcry is more from a concern that this is part of a swing toward controlling abortions overall, eventually revisiting Roe v. Wade? For those who believe that a woman should have the ultimate responsibility for her body, this may be seen as a first step. Unfortunately, the Bush administration seems to reinforce this view with its enthusiasm in general about those issues that seem to have religious bases. For the record, I am opposed to PBA, based on what I have read- which is probably insufficient to make a really informed decision-- Not that that seems to stop people from forming opinions, including our legislators.

To: The Philosopher who wrote (78654)	11/5/2003 6:10:36 PM
From: Lane3	Respond to of 82486

I don't know much about why particular procedures are chosen. I can think of reasons, though, why stopping a pregnancy late might be required to save the life of the mother. For example, some women get critical blood pressure or blood sugar or this or that that endangers their lives. I don't know all the details but there are plenty of women who are stuck in bed for half their pregnancies because of their medical conditions. I don't know how often it happens but those conditions could become urgent enough that the woman can't carry the baby any longer without risking her life. Another situation would be if the woman is diagnosed with cancer and in need of immediate chemotherapy to save her life. Or is in an auto accident. Or I think I've heard of incompatible blood types. I'm out of my natural turf here, but I'm sure there are some situations where a woman simply cannot carry to term. As for the procedure, I suppose one could cut the fetus out rather than partially delivering it, but then there's the additional stress on the woman of the anesthesia. If you're going to kill the fetus anyway to save the mother, you might as well do it in the way that does the least damage to the woman, no matter how distasteful. Maybe that's where PBA comes into play. As for delivering the baby intact, that makes sense for an eight month fetus, unless the mother goes into cardiac arrest during the process or some such. Some fetuses would be too young to save, though. There's a reason why this procedure is rare. There's not apparently a lot of use for it, which is a good thing. And all the more reason to leave it up to the principles, IMO.