A Bad Case of Morning Sickness
There’s morning sickness, and then there's morning sickness. A 34-year old British woman, Cheryl Harrison, has just come forward admitting that she aborted her nine-week old fetus because of the devastating morning sickness she endured in the early stages of the pregnancy.
Apparently, when she was previously pregnant with her now 5-year old daughter, she got sick up to 40 times a day over a seven month period. The sickness was so bad that after seeing an ultrasound of the baby at 20-weeks, she recalls, it “showed I had a beautiful baby girl but I was almost disappointed because I just wanted the pregnancy to end.” She had been hoping for a miscarriage! But she adds apologetically that now she can’t imagine her life without her daughter, Scarlett.
The bouts of sickness in her recent pregnancy, the one which ended in an abortion, were even worse than before, causing health problems—so facing a Hobbesian choice between her soon to be beloved child and the dreadful pain, she made the agonizing decision to abort the healthy baby, which, according to the article, “was the hardest thing she has ever done.”
In other morning sickness-related news, Celine Dion has been loving hers.
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Re: A Bad Case of Morning Sickness
I think we should file this one under "ObamaCare" rather than "Abortion." Why? Because it seems like an illustration of the level of care we can expect under nationalized healthcare. One telling line from the article is: "the Harrisons say there was a lack of support from health services." Is anyone surprised?
On the website of the American Pregnancy Association, I see a variety of suggestions for extreme morning sickness, including intravenous fluids to ensure that the mother gets the nutrition she needs, as well as anti-nausea meds. But intravenous feeding and medications are expensive, and if you're the National Health, much simpler, cheaper, and more convenient to terminate the pregnancy.
Jun '10
Re: A Bad Case of Morning Sickness
This is truly gruesome. Right to Life organizations in the US, like Sisters of Life, Birthright, or even the local church, would have stepped in to help this woman. Is Britain so far gone that its citizens can only turn to the government? And what the heck would posess this woman to freely publicize her story???
My pregnancies were uncomplicated. But I did have friends who needed hospitalization and IV therapy due to severe morning sickness. It was no fun, but none of them would have given a moment's thought to aborting their babies.
May '10
Re: A Bad Case of Morning Sickness
It's similar to the rationalization made for abortions in cases of rape. Though the mother would never state it so bluntly, she is asserting that it's acceptable for one person to avoid torment by killing another. Very sad.
Re: A Bad Case of Morning Sickness
Hi Aaron---that's a great point about rape.
Do you think it's justifiable for a mother to abort her baby if her life is at stake? Can the same rationalization made for abortions in the case of rape (and morning sickness) be used in the case of a mother's potential death? Namely, that it's acceptable for the mother to avoid torment (the torment of death) by killing another? I think this is a tough one and would love your thoughts.
May '10
Re: A Bad Case of Morning Sickness
Aaron, I'm with you on the rape example. The sad truth is that the innocent life was not the offender. However, when terminating the baby's life, the innocent pays for the offender's crime. Thus, more offense is incurred.
As to a mother's potential death should the child be born or the pregnancy continue, another difficult and sad scenario. I hate to sound like a squish, but I'd say it depends. Tubal pregnancies could potentially be saved. However, the likelihood that a fetus could survive is very slim. The likelihood of a tubal pregnancy ending badly for both mother and child is high.
May '10
Re: A Bad Case of Morning Sickness
If giving birth endangers the life of the mother, then I would say it is the mother's choice. Risking one's life for another should always be an act of free will.
Mothers are obviously called to love their children. Risking one's life is the ultimate act of love. I think, even in the cases of highest risk, it would be a failure of love to not take that chance. But that's to judge the act, not the mother. We all love imperfectly, and that scenario requires immense courage.
We award Purple Hearts to soldiers for extraordinary acts of bravery because even those devoted to courageous lives do not always find the strength to take the greatest risks. But because we cannot all be so brave does not mean we should not all aspire to be.
It's instinctive for human beings to value the lives of children more than adults. I believe that's because we know, if only darkly, that life is about becoming someone... and a child has had less time on that journey. But I would never condemn an adult to save a child.
May '10
Re: A Bad Case of Morning Sickness
And, Emily, I believe there are always any number of ways a person can rationalize a bad decision. Whenever a woman is pregnant, though especially in cases of rape or medical complications, she is inevitably frightened by how much her life is about to change and the enormous responsibilities she will face as a result. Giving birth requires courage under any circumstances.
That's why I believe the Church has the right strategy of assuring mothers that they will have someone to help them through that change. More than anything, I think mothers considering abortion need to know they're not alone. If they feel and understand love, then they can share that love with the child.
Jun '10
Re: A Bad Case of Morning Sickness
The reason I find this situtation gruesome is because this mom is willingly aborting a perfectly healthy child who was conceived with a loving husband and has a sibling anticipating the baby's arrival. There are no thorny issues in this case, such as life of the mother, or child conceived by rape. It reminds me of another much publicized pregnancy where a woman wrote about her choice to "reduce" the number of babies in her womb (she was carrying triplets) because she didn't want to join the hoi polloi she so despised, buying large jars of mayonaise at Costco.
Felicia, I was unaware that an ectopic pregnancy could be saved. I may be wrong, but I believe that tubal pregnancies left untreated would always result in tube rupture and almost certain death for the mother. Life of the mother exceptions have now morphed into the nebulous "health" of the mother exceptions. I never thought I'd see morning sickness used as justification to abort. Maybe stretch marks will soon follow.