When is it morally OK for a woman to get a hysterectomy?

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Hi all, after getting her third C-section, my wife was told by her doctor that she should try to avoid getting pregnant again since her damaged uterus was not healing properly after each surgeries. Apparently her uterus was paper thin when they performed the C-section on her. He told us that that diagnosis is typically given to approximately 1 out 1000 women. The doctor said the risk of a uterine rupture is relatively high given her condition.

Well, fast forward 13 months later and she’s now pregnant for our 4th child… surprise! She will probably be referred to a high risk pregnancy specialist soon, but the moral dilemma I have is figuring out whether or not it would be morally permissible for her to take the specialists’ recommendation that she gets a hysterectomy immediately after the C-section (if he/she does so).

I understand that sterilization is forbidden, but I’m also aware of the principle of double effect and I was wondering if it applied in such a scenario. If the doctor says that failing to remove the damaged uterus could become life threatening if another pregnancy were to occur, would it be morally licit to opt for the hysterectomy? If the intent of the surgery is to remove the damaged organ in order to eliminate the relatively high threat of a hemorrhage caused by any future pregnancies, does the principle of double effect apply here?

Any information is greatly appreciated. Thank you and please keep my wife Julie in your prayers.

Eric
 
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Pretty confident you can if it is life threatening.

Think of the current children they need a healthy mother. I would do everything possible to be available and healthy for my kids.
 
From what I’ve gathered, a hysterectomy would be permissible only if her uterus is a threat to her health even when she is not pregnant. If the threat only arises if she becomes pregnant then it is not morally OK to get a hysterectomy and NFP/abstinence is the only solution.

We’re only 30 years old, the thought of us not being able to engage in marital embrace until my wife hits menopause makes me sick to my stomach.
 
You’ll get answers all over the place on this forum. Please seek guidance from your priest and ignore anything else said here.
 
I’m still waiting for a response from the National Catholic Bioethics Center. Thanks
 
**Q . 2.**When the uterus (e.g., as a result of previous Caesarian sections) is in a state such that while not constituting in itself a present risk to the life or health of the woman, nevertheless is foreseeably incapable of carrying a future pregnancy to term without danger to the mother, danger which in some cases could be serious, is it licit to remove the uterus (hysterectomy) in order to prevent a possible future danger deriving from conception?

R . Negative.
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Well, there’s my answer I guess.
 
My question now is if we choose to engage in a very cautious version of NFP, and despite doing so my wife gets pregnant again, would it be morally licit for her to get a hysterectomy while pregnant (given high risk of uterine rupture)? Just as a pregnant woman with uterine cancer may elect for chemotherapy knowing it will kill her child, would such reasoning also apply here?
 
I’m nearly thirty myself, being 27.

There’s praying about your wife’s uterus and decreasing the amount of sex you guys have if it’s pretty frequent.

Remember, there’s married couples that may not have sex much because it might cause the spouse pain because of disability or something.

I can private message you Catholic websites for prayer.
 
OP can I offer some advice?

You are going to get such a wide range of responses on here, which will add to your confusion. Some PP on CFA are so dogmatic in their thinking on this subject they will basically suggest you suck it up and stop having sex forever. Or continue to fall pregnant and hope to God it ends well.

I hoghly doubt that is what God is asking of us.

I have a significant health risk and am on a contracept due to this. It is not an aborficant. Yet when I raised this on here some time ago it was suggested by some I martyred myself and dealt with the health risks (early death). Highly hypocritical considering they were not expected to pick up the pieces and let my husband raise our kids with an incapacitated or deceased mother.

Talk to your priest. I was pleasantly surprised how supportive the church was in outlier situations.

It doesn’t have to be two horrible extremes. Be at peace.
 
Well we still haven’t had our first opinion yet, I’m just trying to get things sorted out beforehand in case the doctor recommends a hysterectomy.
 
When is the due date for your wife?

Often a scarred uterus could cause problems when the placenta implants on the scar tissue. During labor, the placenta doesn’t detach from the uterine wall and hysterectomy becomes medically necessary.
 
The example I gave was uterine cancer. The mother is not guaranteed to die from cancer if she chooses to wait out the pregnancy before going for treatment, yet it is morally permissible for her to seek out that treatment during pregnancy knowing it will end the life of her child.

As for the second half, according to the article from the Vatican it would not be morally licit to get a hysterectomy during the C-section given the circumstances. Since her uterus in itself does not cause a direct threat to the mother, and since only pregnancy thereafter would do so, abstinence is the Catholic solution according to that article.
 
Right, if the threat is immediate it is licit for doctors to make a decision in real time by performing a hysterectomy. If it is not however, that’s a different question.

My wife’s due date is in mid-June.
 
You should be able to use NFP effectively if you follow it correctly? I will be praying for you
 
Can you ask your diocese if they have a list of NFP / prolife doctors?

Maybe another doctor who shares ethical beliefs with you and your wife will be a better match than her current doctor.
 
We’ve been using NFP for several years and let me tell ya, it can be incredibly tricky given my wife’s abnormal cycles/fertility signs.

Thank you, we truly need your prayers.
 
I suppose it doesn’t hurt to ask, but we live in Ontario, Canada, so I don’t like our chances of finding anyone in close proximity to us.
 
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