Botched abortion after misdiagnosed fetal defect

[nothingmuch]

Rome, Italy (LifeNews.com) -- The baby boy who became the victim of an abortion after doctors failed a disability test on him died over the weekend. Physicians advised his mother to have an abortion after they had misdiagnosed a physical deformity but the boy survived the procedure

Comments

[nothingmuch]

True. Do you think there's any way to prevent things like this from happening?

[nemo_wistar]

I don't think the woman should have been advised to abort, especially if the success rate of the operation is on the order of 75-80%. I think there is some amount of civil liability on the part of the doctors, who gave bad advice to someone who assumed they knew what they were talking about and followed their recommendation. To me, it's no different than being told you need a kidney removed; then, when you wake up in post-op, you're told they were wrong but had to take it out anyway.

"botched abortion"

[mastroscara]

There is no way for any of us to know if the mistake made by the doctors was an honest one or what was behind it--or, indeed, if there weren't other factors that played into the situation

Re: "botched abortion"

[superlily74]

as someone who is pro-choice (for as much as that word irritates me)
Are you referring to the word "pro-choice"? Why does the word irritate you?

Re: "botched abortion"

[mastroscara]

Indeed, "pro-choice" is the word that irritates me. I am bothered by it because choice is a consumer concept. I think that many women who live in a country that purports to have legal abortions are denied choice--by their economic circumstances, their location, their access to adequate health care, including contraceptives, social pressure and so on.

I am in favor of every woman (and every man, for that matter) having autonomous control of her body and the ability to make and carry out medical decisions, including abortions.

Choice, historically and presently, is often defined by a woman's social position and that bothers me.

I also think that the choice to have a child and raise it out of poverty is something every woman should have, but I am not sure that the main-stream US pro-choice movement has taken up this cause as the other side of the coin.

I wrote my Master's thesis on this very topic, I could go on for a bit :)

Re: "botched abortion"

[superlily74]

I think that many women who live in a country that purports to have legal abortions are denied choice--by their economic circumstances, their location, their access to adequate health care, including contraceptives, social pressure and so on.
That's absolutely true and a very good point indeed.

What would you prefer to call the pro-choice position regarding abortion? How do you self-refer?

[nothingmuch]

What do you think of this story? Should this woman have been advised to abort?

It's sad. It bothers me that this woman was so determined to abort, based on two inconclusive screenings and the advice of an unnamed private doctor, and that the abortion was performed at such a late stage, and the fetus/baby (whatever you want to call a 22 week neonate who survives for a week after an abortion) turned out to be completely normal. It makes me wonder what the private doctor told her. It makes me wonder how this could have happened, and how it could be prevented in the future.

What do you think can or should be done to prevent tragedies like this?

I don't know. I am pro-choice, but that doesn't mean I like the idea of women being told to have late abortions based on flimsy evidence of a defect that can be repaired in most cases. There must be some way to prevent things like this from happening.

[connusdavance]

Just a side note, taken from the article you linked to:

"Beyond that point, abortions are permitted only if there is a grave danger to the woman or a suspected deformation of the foetus.

However, the law also stipulates that, in such cases, "the doctor who carries out the operation must take every suitable measure to safeguard the life of the foetus"."

What does that mean? How can a doctor performing an abortion take every suitable measure to safeguard the life of the fetus?

[nothingmuch]

I really don't know.

Perhaps it means that the abortion has to be performed by labor induction, in a hospital, maybe with a pediatrician present?

[connusdavance]

So maybe removal-of-the-burden-on-the-woman's-body is the doctor's goal, not necessarily killing the fetus.

[ebay313]

I'm not sure exactly what advising to abort means in this story, but I don't believe it's the place of dr's to advise an option, but rather to give one medical information about all options so that they can make an informed decisions themselves.