Skip to main content

Ectopic Pregnancy: Does the Mother Have to Die for Nothing? - A Cautionary Tale For Catholic Parents!


 +
JMJ
The Mother should die!

I've heard these words uttered with conviction on two separate occasions by Traditional Catholics.  The context, ectopic pregnancy.

In both cases, it was obvious that they were making an assumption that this was equivalent to abortion.

Welcome to one of the difficult issues of Catholic Moral Theology.

My first exposure to this was a trial by fire as we had an ectopic pregnancy. My wife thought she was having a miscarriage, like our previous pregnancy.  To be certain we went in and discovered that my wife was in grave danger of dying, if something wasn't done to prevent the rupture. As noted by the Doctor, this is leading cause of pregnancy deaths in the developed world. A woman may not know she's expecting, experience a ruptured Fallopian tube, go into shock due to bleeding and die.

This resulted in deepening my understanding of  St. Thomas' principle of double effect see Summa Theologica (II-II, Qu. 64, Art.7) (Stanford link and Catholic Encyclopedia Summa link).  Simply put, an action can have more than one effect or result. Provided that the act is not morally evil, if the remaining conditions are met, then it is not immoral to proceed.  

While there is some discussion about the use of the principle in modern times (see Stanford link above), I am obviously not concerned about academic debates. The fact is that the Catholic Church pre-council and even today consider it a valid principle moral theology to be used to chart our way in more difficult questions.

Two providential events helps us to navigate the pressures applied by the hospital First, a couple had experienced this situation a few years earlier.  Secondly the SSPX priest was able to come help us at the hospital. 

The hospital staff and pastoral care person were advising the use of a pharmacological (drug) intervention. Basically, a drug that would inhibit angiogenesis - the formation of new blood vessels.  This would have cut off the blood supply to our twins, killing them directly and from what Father had told us would not be a correct application of the principle. The second option was the surgical removal of the affected part of the Fallopian tube with the intention of preventing its rupture and the death of the Mother and enabled the baptism of the babies.

The conversation lasted about 4hr's and finally we were able to put it in a language that the staff understood. The phase that finally got them to stop arguing was that "we were concerned with the mental anguish that it would cause to have taken a direct action against the life of the babies and were not concerned with saving the Fallopian tube".   

With that barrier surmounted, we then asked the Doctor if he knew how to perform an ectopic baptism.  It turns out he did, having interned in Ireland with a Catholic doctor who performed ectopic baptism for all of ectopic pregnanceis - whether he was asked or not.

So my wife went into surgery, had the affected part of the tube containing our twins removed and they were baptised immediately. The twins are in Heave, having died shortly after being baptised and my wife didn't have to die for nothing.  

When my wife was in the recovery room the Doctor noted that the tube had begun to rupture. Meaning that even if we had thought the drug approach had been moral, she still would have ruptured and been in danger of dying from shock. 

So if confronted with an ectopic pregnancy, the Mother does not have to die and it is possible to ensure that your baby sees the face of God by proceeding with surgery followed by ectopic baptism.

P^3



From McHugh and Callun 1958:


Article 1848. Destruction of the Unborn.--
 
(b) Indirect and unintentional killing, or rather permission of death, is not unlawful in such a case, when there is a proportionately grave reason, such as the life of the mother. Thus, it is permissible to give the mother a remedy necessary to cure a mortal disease (e.g., medicinal drugs, baths, injections, or operations on the uterus), even though this will bring on abortion or the death of the fetus; for the mother is not obliged to prefer the temporal life of the child to her own life. But the baptism of the child must be attended to, for its salvation depends on the Sacrament, and the eternal life of the child is to be preferred to the temporal life of the mother, if the conditions of 1166 are verified.

(c) Contemporary moral opinion considers that in tubal pregnancies (ectopic gestation) the tube itself is in a pathological condition long before rupture of the tube, as experts in obstetrics teach, and hence can be excised as a diseased organ of the human body. As such, the excision of such a tube would be in itself a morally indifferent act and, granting verification of the other conditions for the principle of double effect, could be licitly performed. (For a history of the moral question, medical testimony and full argumentation see Chapter X of _Medical Ethics_ by Charles J. McFadden, O.S.A.) Some theologians, however, believe that the tube cannot be removed unless it can be proved in each case that a pathological condition, placing the woman in danger of death, exists. [Tradical: With our modern ultrasound diagnostic technology this is easily discerned.] The first view is accepted as sufficiently safe to be followed in practice. (See Francis J. Connell, C.SS.R.,_Morals in Politics and Professions_, p. 118.)
 
.

References


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Curious Case of Steve Skojec and the Dangers of Deep Diving into the Crisis Sub-Titled: The Failings of Others

 + JMJ It's been a while now since Steve Skojec sold 1P5 and abandoned the Catholic Faith. I've been a 'Trad' since 1982 and in those 40+ years I seen this death-spiral before with a similar end point. It seems that anyone who jumps into the fray unprepared for the enormous task of righting wrongs will, eventually, become discouraged by not the task but the people who surround them.   I remember when Skojec complained of the treatment his family received from a traditional priest.  This seems to have been the start of the end for him. So what can we learn from the likes of Steve Skojec, Michael Voris (maybe?), Louie Verrecchio, Gerry Matatix and other celebrity Catholics? Probably quite a lot about what not to do. First, don't burn out on the crisis?  When you burn out, on work or anything else, little things assume a more greater importance than they are due.   This is one of my 'canary in the coal mine' signals that I've been stretching myself too thin

Morning and Evening and other sundry Prayers

+ JMJ Along the theme of P^3 (Prayer, Penance, Patience), and for my own reference ... here is a collection of Morning and Evening prayers from the Ideal Daily Missal along with some additional prayers. In this crisis of the Church, I do not think it is possible to do too much prayer, penance and have patience. P^3

Comparision of the Tridentine, Cranmer and Novus Ordo Masses

+ JMJ I downloaded the comparison that was linked in the previous article on the mass (here) . ... a very good reference! P^3 From: Whispers of Restoration (available at this link) . CHARTING LITURGICAL CHANGE Comparing the 1962 Ordinary of the Roman Mass to changes made during the Anglican Schism; Compared in turn to changes adopted in the creation of Pope Paul VI’s Mass in 1969 The chart on the reverse is a concise comparison of certain ritual differences between three historical rites for the celebration of the Catholic Mass Vetus Ordo: “Old Order,” the Roman Rite of Mass as contained in the 1962 Missal, often referred to as the “Traditional Latin Mass.”The Ordinary of this Mass is that of Pope St. Pius V (1570) following the Council of Trent (1545-63), hence the occasional moniker “Tridentine Mass.” However, Trent only consolidated and codified the Roman Rite already in use at that time; its essential form dates to Pope St. Gregory the Great (+604), in whose time the R

What the heck is a congregation of "Pontifical Right"

+ JMJ In a discussion with a friend the question occurred to me that I didn't actually know was is involved in being a religious order of 'pontifical right'. I had a vague notion that this meant they reported to Rome as opposed to the local diocese. I'm also aware that, according to the accounts I have heard, the Archbishop received 'praise' and the written direction to incardinate priests directly into the SSPX.  This is interesting because it implies that the SSPX priests were no longer required to incardinate in the local diocese but in the SSPX. This is something that belongs to an order of 'pontifical right'. Anyway here's some definitions: Di diritto pontificio is the Italian term for “of pontifical right” . It is given to the ecclesiastical institutions (the religious and secular institutes, societies of apostolic life) either created by the Holy See or approved by it with the formal decree, known by its Latin name, Decretu