There is a difference between delivering the baby when the mothers life is at stake and aborting the baby. If the baby has to come out, for the mother to live, he has to come out. But when the baby is near viability, he deserves not to be killed during delivery or left to die in a back room. I know a young mom who recently turned eclamsic and had to have her twins delivered very, very early. When doctors need to do this to save the mom, they do it. One baby weighed about 2 lbs and the other was a little under 2 lbs. Both are fine now and so is Mom. They are all home.
In this tragic case, the treatment necessary to save the mother’s life required the termination of an 11-week pregnancy. This decision was made after consultation with the patient, her family, her physicians, and in consultation with the Ethics Committee, of which Sr. Margaret McBride is a member.
This woman was 11 weeks pregnant. The fetus was literally months away from even a tiny chance at survival.
And sometimes, the baby has to come out long before the age of viability. In the case of ectopic pregnancies, it is a medical emergency that appears in the first trimester. There is no luxury of inducing labor/performing a c-section and hoping that the baby can survive outside the womb. No hope at all.