Specific Canon Law on abortion?

[Corki]

Well I don’t know what the exact status of the Fetus was. It all happened in 12 hours at a hospital 100 miles away from where I was stationed at in the Army. I finally arrived at the hospital after the induced birth of the baby since I had my duties to attend to and my step child had to have arrangements for someone to take care of him. The baby was given last rites by a Chaplin. My wife never wanted to talk about what happened so I never pressed her on it. But I can gaurantee if the baby was viable should have had the baby and carried it around if she had to.

I think there is a confusion on terms. If a child is viable, it just means that he has a chance of living on his own if he is delivered. The chances are lower the earlier a child is born. The usual reason for early induction is that the mother is having some kind of medical crisis, such as preclampsia, where continuing the pregnancy would be dangerous to her health. Rarely, babies are delivered early so that they can undergo surgery or other treatment.

If a child is delivered before the state of viability, the child is being killed. If the child is delivered after the point of viability but prior to term, there has to be a medical benefit to outweigh the risk (ie mother’s health). Unfortunately, it sounds like you child was brought into the world too early and with the intention that he would die sooner this way. Fortunately, your child lived long enough to be Baptized which is hopefully a comfort to you.

 

[Keith_W_OR_USA]

Fortunately, your child lived long enough to be Baptized which is hopefully a comfort to you.

No, The baby was stillborn at birth, I know it never took a breath since there was no birth or death certificate issued by the State of Bavaria in Germany that was explained to me by an Army lawyer as required if the baby was born alive.

 

[roads152]

Inducing delivery before a human being can live outside the womb is but a euphemism for inducing abortion. Let me clarify, immediately, that a human being must be a living being even if he or she is still in the womb.
Medical practitioners, nowadays, can be morally certain about presence or absence of heart beat even if the baby is still in the womb.
My opinion is, and I may be wrong, an obstetrician, who is morally certain that the baby in the womb is no longer breathing, may declare the baby dead. An induced delivery may be in order if only to try to resuscitate the baby or to save the life of the mother. The Church, however, through the ministry of anyone present will try to save the soul of the infant by emergency baptism right after the delivery.
Now, to determine whether it was induced abortion or merely a removal of a “cadaver” through medical or surgical procedure is something that can be ascertained between you and the priest in the confessional.

 

[nodito]

No, The baby was stillborn at birth, I know it never took a breath since there was no birth or death certificate issued by the State of Bavaria in Germany that was explained to me by an Army lawyer as required if the baby was born alive.

The baby was given last rites by a Chaplin.

I think this is where some of the confusion is. Catholic priests don’t administer sacraments to those who are already deceased. Or maybe it wasn’t a Catholic chaplin at the hospital or perhaps last rites weren’t actually adminsitered.

If the fetus was alive when induction started then it was an abortion. If the baby was already dead in the uterus, then there was no problem removing the fetus. Either way, a priest may be helpful in helping you deal with your grief and/or confusion regarding what actually happened.

 

[jrgiancola]

IF canon law states you sinned in having the abortion, then either the law is wrong or someone is misinterpreting it. I do not believe we are obligated by God to bring children into the world who do not have fully formed heads. This child is better off going back to God where I’m sure it is now. You and your wife showed great mercy to this child by aborting it.

 

[Corki]

IF canon law states you sinned in having the abortion, then either the law is wrong or someone is misinterpreting it. I do not believe we are obligated by God to bring children into the world who do not have fully formed heads. This child is better off going back to God where I’m sure it is now. You and your wife showed great mercy to this child by aborting it.

Abortion is always a sin unless coersed. If you don’t like the Code of Canon Law, how about the Catechism?

2258 "Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action of God and it remains for ever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end: no one can under any circumstance claim for himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being."56

2271 Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law

All unborn children deserve protection, even those with severe disabilities. In fact, those with disabilities need our protection even more.

 

[Beth_Cecilia]

I am sympathetic to the mother and to the original poster for this distress. It is difficult to second guess doctors, but sometimes that is just what we are called to do.

My niece was born with only half of a brain. The doctors told her mother that she would not live. It was not even an issue of whether or not she would live well, they did not believe she could live. She just finished kindergarten, and is a normal little girl without disabilities. The brain is amazing, and it compensated in some way for the parts that were not there. She favors one side, but what is going on inside her head is otherwise completely unnoticable. It was terrifying time for her mother, but the point of telling the story here is that doctors- however brilliant- cannot always predict what is going to happen. Sometimes babies die and no one knows why. Sometimes they survive the most incredible and impossible medical situations.

I am carrying a baby now- 6 months along- who has been diagnosed with a genetic disorder. In the first ultrasound, they found abnormalities and sent me to a specialist. The specialist looked at the fetal development and told me tha my child did not have a chance and I should abort. He had various potential diagnoses, but the bottom line was that no matter which of these was true, the baby would not survive. That was his professional opinion. We did not consider abortion, and we refused to see that doctor again (because the experience was so difficult for me.) Since then, we have seen a number of doctors. Each has been told that we will not consider termination, and each has respected that and has done the best they can to equip me and my husband with the best medical help.

My baby may not be able to take a breath, her lungs are not properly formed. She may need surgery immediately after birth. She may have heart problems. Her skull is fusing already, which may mean that the brain cannot form properly. In the worst case, she will not survive long after birth. In the most likely case, she will be born with difficulties, and will live with certain abnormalities. In the best case, she will be born perfectly healthy- a miracle. She is my daughter. I have been going to see many doctors. (Two regularly each month in addition to any necessary testing. At 32 weeks, I will begin seeing both my regular docs weekly.) I will get her the best possible care, because she is my daughter. I will hope and pray for her health, knowing that if she is born healthy at this point, it would be a miracle. I do not love her less for her potential difficulties. I would not love my older daughter less, or fight less for her, or hope less for her, if she was in an accident and injured in potentially life-threatening ways. I see it as the same. My daughter, the younger, unborn daughter, is facing severe medical difficulties. It is my job to get her the best care I can, and to hope and pray for her. We don’t give up on our children when we hear bad news. I am not delusional, and I understand that there is a possibility that my daughter will not live long after birth. I am just a mom who loves her daughter and will not give up on her.

I am not sharing to give distress to anyone. I just want to make a few things clear.

1. Doctors do not always know. They give their best guess. They are usually very good- but if they do not understand the viewpoint that this unborn child is already viewed as a family member, they may not treat the child as a child. Don’t lose faith in the doctors, just be upfront with your beliefs and demand doctors that will respect them.
2. We are the caregivers for our children. They are not ours- they are God’s and only God knows his plan for them. We trust that God knows what he is doing, even when it seems impossible or cruel. God knows us better and loves us more than we can possibly understand.
3. Miracles happen. I am not saying expect miracles- but trying to pretend that we know what is going to happen in a given situation is silly.

 

[TheRealJuliane]

I know this will probably be painful, but I am going to suggest that the OP actually bring this up with his wife. She may need healing and he has a right to know exactly what happened. It is an experience that she had and that they should share completely. I am not sure that he had any responsibility in the matter since he was not consulted and may not have known, but he should still not turn his back on this.

And OP, what you said about the decision being totally up to the woman - that is wrong. Of course the medical world and the rest of society does believe that since a woman can have an abortion without her husband’s consent or even knowledge, but that does not mean it is the right thing. That baby was yours as well and you have every right to participate in any decision regarding its life, however short.

 

[roads152]

jrgiancola, abortion is murder. No circumstance of the living unborn child can warrant abortion. The more serious his/her condition, the more help he/she needs. No man in his right mind will take advantage of a defenseless, innocent human being.
Let us be aware that there are a lot of influence around that distorts morality. Mercy killing is but one of the results of such influence.