Fla. doctor investigated in badly botched abortion

[SWTXBelle]

I would think the test would be - was the baby stillborn (never took a breath, heart didn't beat) or was it born and then died?

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by honeychile

That's the same mindset I have - if a baby is viable at ? weeks and is wanted, there will be hundreds of thousands of dollars spent to keep that child alive. However, if that same baby isn't wanted, it's treated as biohazard material.

IMHO, it's two standards. This is either a child or not. There are measures taken to save a life or not. There shouldn't be an option of being wanted or not.

I had a friend whose wife delivered at 22 weeks, and the child is fine - now. They went through a year of hundreds of thousands of dollars for his care, and he became a March of Dimes poster boy. So, when I hear of a child being placed in a biohazard bag "coffin", please forgive me for shaking my head. I hope I never do understand that sort of logic.

I have to doubt the 22 week number. That is the limit of our medical ability to save premature babies. I also have to mention that treating a premature baby is up to the parents. If the mother refuses treatment, the baby will not be resuscitated. Does that happen often? No, because those women want their babies. Is it wrong to refuse to give consent to treat a severely premature baby since the outcome is most often very poor? In my opinion it is not. If I had a premature baby at 22 weeks, after seeing what happens to these babies, I would choose to let the baby die. Sometimes what can be done is not the same as what should be done.

[ZTABullwinkle]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

I have to doubt the 22 week number. That is the limit of our medical ability to save premature babies. I also have to mention that treating a premature baby is up to the parents. If the mother refuses treatment, the baby will not be resuscitated. Does that happen often? No, because those women want their babies. Is it wrong to refuse to give consent to treat a severely premature baby since the outcome is most often very poor? In my opinion it is not. If I had a premature baby at 22 weeks, after seeing what happens to these babies, I would choose to let the baby die. Sometimes what can be done is not the same as what should be done.

I worked in the NICU at our local children's hopsital. I can recall seeing babies born at 20 weeks who were eventually discharged from the hospital. They went through hell, as did their parents and caregivers, but they did leave.

Maybe I missed it, but did the mother who was having the abortion realize the baby was alive? Has she spoke anymore about this? Can you imagine how she is feeling after all of this?

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by ZTABullwinkle

I worked in the NICU at our local children's hopsital. I can recall seeing babies born at 20 weeks who were eventually discharged from the hospital. They went through hell, as did their parents and caregivers, but they did leave.

Maybe I missed it, but did the mother who was having the abortion realize the baby was alive? Has she spoke anymore about this? Can you imagine how she is feeling after all of this?

I'm sure you have, but they are in the minority of 20 weekers. And the majority have major deficits.

[preciousjeni]

Originally Posted by ZTABullwinkle

Can you imagine how she is feeling after all of this?

If she didn't want the baby in the first place, I'd figure she'd be feeling mission accomplished. Granted, women who have abortions often have a lot of emotions the come up after the procedure, but I'd imagine that she feels the same as if she'd had the abortion. I still don't see the difference. Abort in utero = the baby is a few inches from birth.

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

LOL. Oh go ahead and disagree with me. My age is showing here -- I was in law school pre-Casey, and this isn't something I typically need to deal with work-wise. I thought in remembered that Casey modified the Roe-trimester framework somewhat but still left in intact. This is what I get for not going back and looking it up. Thanks for setting it straight.

Haha, not a problem - and, depending on who you talk to, I think some people give Casey considerably less precedential weight, between the vastly-split plurality and the seeming contradictions throughout O'Connor's opinion.

I think it's kind of funny that Alito wrote the dissent from the Third Circuit's opinion in the case. But, that's just me being a complete nerd...

[ZTABullwinkle]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

I'm sure you have, but they are in the minority of 20 weekers. And the majority have major deficits.

Yes, it is definitely the minority.


The way I look at all of this, is this baby was alive when it was delivered (supposed to be aborted). Was it going to need a lot of medical intervention? Heck yes. I don't know how any human being could do what was done.

I also want to know why a doctor could be so neglient, and just losing his medical license is not punishment enough in my book.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by ZTABullwinkle

Yes, it is definitely the minority.


The way I look at all of this, is this baby was alive when it was delivered (supposed to be aborted). Was it going to need a lot of medical intervention? Heck yes. I don't know how any human being could do what was done.

I also want to know why a doctor could be so neglient, and just losing his medical license is not punishment enough in my book.

Oh I agree! The physician who was in charge is responsible for putting this woman in the position of delivering an unwanted pregnancy early with the dilemma of what to do. He should be severely reprimanded. I don't know what the laws say about giving these sorts of medications in the absence of the MD. However, even with an MD there, the baby would not have survived. As a live birth, however, it is not appropriate to dispose of it in the manner described. If there are no laws regarding this, there should be.

[Munchkin03]

Florida probably has some law about dead body disposal, but come on--it's Florida! It's the most effed up state in the Union, with the exception of Mississippi and California!

[honeychile]

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

Florida probably has some law about dead body disposal, but come on--it's Florida! It's the most effed up state in the Union, with the exception of Mississippi and California!

That's totally sig-worthy!

The people I knew with the 22 week baby went through merry hell with him in the NICU for months. And while I know that he has "complications", I'm not sure what they are. I won't go into details, but they proved that they're trash - unbaby-related.

[Thetagirl218]

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

Florida probably has some law about dead body disposal, but come on--it's Florida! It's the most effed up state in the Union, with the exception of Mississippi and California!

Are you referring to just our abortion laws or something else too? Being a native Floridian, I will agree that SOUTH Florida effed up the 2000 election....lol!

[HotDamnImAPhiMu]

This thread got feisty!