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

[LilyM]

I have a serious issue with this interpretation, be it from the Vatican or not. A damaged or diseased organ, as long as it’s not a uterus, is licit to be removed, but the uterus cannot? Organs that don’t present an immediate danger to life, but are damaged or diseased are removed all the time, without necessitating a document from the Church, but a damaged uterus must present an immediate threat to life before it can be removed?

Depends. Say my kidney is.diseaaed or damaged, for example. Then that disease or damage, without being immediately life.threatening,.can cause all manner of other issues with other organ and bodily function to the extent that for overall body health the most viable solution.is to remove.it. And even then it tends to be a last resort if other methods like.dialysis cannot assist.

Not sure that a scarred uterus causes health problems other than in the unusual circumstance of pregnancy. Or, in this case, that pregnancy is not able.to be avoided by licit means such as conservative NFP (which has progressed well.beyond the old.so-called “Vatican Roukette”). In which case surgery would be unnecessary.

 

[Moneyball]

Ok, the surgeon taking care of your wife is going to be the expert in what is the best treatment for her. A uterus damaged by surgical incisions and subsequent pregnancies isn’t going to be salvaged by blood pressure medicine. That surgeon is also goi g to be the best judge of the extent to which her uterus is damaged. Afterall, he or she is the one viewing and examining it at the time of the C-section, not the composers of the document linked upthread. The Church does not require extraordinary measures to save a uterus, such as a graft. If the doctor reasonably feels the damaged uterus will cause any further complications, even without a pregnancy, there should be no concern about a hysterectomy being licit. Even if we had a board-certified OB/GYN who specializes in high risk pregnancies commenting on here, he/she couldn’t make a determination on the extent of complications that might arise from retaining the uterus after delivery without examining the organ first hand during the surgery and taking all the other factors of your wife’s health and history into consideration. In other words, trust the specialist if they tell you it needs to be removed or if they tell you it can stay after delivery.

I agree for the most part. I still want to be cautious because we have met medical professionals who have no qualms recommending abortion as healthcare, for example. Imagine how much less they care about the moral stance of the Catholic Church in regards to sterilization.

 

[DIERM]

Are you confusing hysterectomy with tubal ligation?

A hysterectomy is not usually (especially nowadays) a procedure designed for sterilization, where tubal ligation is.

If the hysterectomy is for health issues and not to prevent pregnancy for convenience, it is not a moral issues.

 

[catholicmusic]

Ewohdrol I, like you, have an underlying health condition. In my early 30s after three pregnancies, one of which ended in stillbirth two weeks before my due date, it was recommended that I not become pregnant again.

Considering I was in my early 30s with another two decades of potential fertility, two young children and a husband that was already working 60 hours a week, we decided to take the medical advice and took steps to make sure pregnancy would not happen again. I don’t think it was God’s intention for me to die and leave two children behindfor my husband to raise alone either. Or, to risk having more stillbirths. To have had one stillbirth was hard enough to get over.

My hats off to women who can crank out five or six babies with no problems. That was not the case for me. We made the decision that was was right for us. No looking back. It was almost 30 years ago.

 

[LilyM]

But this is one time where we might wonder why (get ready to cringe) we think it’s okay for celibate, childless, non-medical men (aka priests) to make calls over the morality of removing a uterus. Especially if said removal is not an act of sterilization.

I hate myself for posing that question, because normally it’s very annoying and a slap in the face to us Catholics

Those men may be unmarried and chikdless but they are not divorced from.the world. They see how their mothers, sisters, nieces and female parishioners struggle with these and other issues that confront married couples.

 

[Lea101]

Those men may be unmarried and chikdless but they are not divorced from.the world. They see how their mothers, sisters, nieces and female parishioners struggle with these and other issues that confront married couples.

While that’s true, it’s definitely not the same as fully empathising with the mother in this situation, or even the father who has to deal with possible guilt if anything goes wrong. It’s one thing to directly experience something and see someone else struggling tbh. Our own biases affect our judgement as well.

 

[Trishie]

If my mother had taken the doctor’s advice, when she suffered serious uterine prolapse, and had a hysterectomy, then she would not have died with the next pregnancy at age 43 leaving nine 9 children ranging from 4 years old to 18, changing the lives of all the children she left behind with lifelong consequences.
This surely was a case where Jesus would not have spoken against this mother having a hysterectomy.

If the mother’s life is in danger, is not the greater evil leaving her children motherless, and the father alone to raise her children without their mother?

 

[1ke]

we might wonder why (get ready to cringe) we think it’s okay for celibate, childless, non-medical men (aka priests) to make calls over the morality of removing a uterus.

Because those things have nothing to do with the morality of removing the uterus.

Especially if said removal is not an act of sterilization.

What the Church says about that is: it’s perfectly fine to do so.

I hate myself for posing that question, because normally it’s very annoying and a slap in the face to us Catholics

It still is.

 

[1ke]

Trishie, no one here is saying the woman cannot have a hysterectomy when medically indicated. Your uterus literally falling out of you is one of those times it is medically indicated.

I’m sorry that you lost your mother. Im not sure why she made the choice not to have a hysterectomy or to try to have another child. It was risky, and it did have consequences.

If the mother’s life is in danger, is not the greater evil leaving her children motherless, and the father alone to raise her children without their mother?

Trishie, we don’t always see things from the mother’s point of view. St Gianna chose what she knew was nearly a certain outcome in order to deliver her 4th child. She left a widower and her 4 children, and some may criticize her for it.

 

[tafan2]

I tend to agree with you on this. @Moneyball, please go talk to your pastor. He is charged by the Church with the care of your soul. I would not rely on advice from this forum where it is likely, despite your best efforts, that we do not know all the details and we are not experts ourselves.

 

[tafan2]

But if it is not carrying life and poses a serious medical risk in the future, it is not different than say a gall bladder.

 

[tafan2]

These forums are skewed by the opinions of very traditional Catholics, opinions that are far more conservative than what the Church actually teaches. Some of these opinions are draconian. Don’t be confused by that.

I think the opinions are from those, myself included, who do not always understand the nuances of Catholic moral teaching. The OP needs to talk to his pastor.

 

[Bree]

I also had to have a hysterectomy when I was still young. I was 26. I am 47 now. My husband and I had 3 sons, but I don’t think we could of had any more anyway. I had to have mine because of the uterus being prolapsed (the cervix was less than 2 cm from the opening, without pushing ) and I had pre cancerous lesions all over it.
I was told at one point I would not be able to have anymore children after our second son, because of this. 4 years went by but God decided he wanted us to have a third son <3
I’m glad He did it when He did, because while I was pregnant with our 3rd son, my husband was diagnosed with testicular cancer. The chemotherapy he received for so many months sterilized my husband.
Everyone said we got married to young.
(me 15 him 18)
Had children to young. 15 thru 22)
But God has a plan for us all.

So you’re not alone. But I’m amazed at how many people are amazed at the fact we are still married…

 

[Bree]

These forums are skewed by the opinions of very traditional Catholics, opinions that are far more conservative than what the Church actually teaches. Some of these opinions are draconian. Don’t be confused by that.

I don’t seem to remember God sending an edit to what he considers to be a sin

Just because times have changed and people are more accepting of things…
Doesn’t mean God now judges sins on a curve …

 

[TheLittleLady]

For the same reason that my husband’s Advanced Heart Failure Doctor nor his Cardiothoracic Surgeon needed to have themselves received a heart transplant.

 

[Moneyball]

Then what is the morally relevant difference between that and a pregnant woman seeking chemotherapy for her cancer? In both cases the the death of the child is foreseeable, but not intended.

 

[Moneyball]

I also had to have a hysterectomy when I was still young. I was 26. I am 47 now. My husband and I had 3 sons, but I don’t think we could of had any more anyway. I had to have mine because of the uterus being prolapsed (the cervix was less than 2 cm from the opening, without pushing ) and I had pre cancerous lesions all over it.
I was told at one point I would not be able to have anymore children after our second son, because of this. 4 years went by but God decided he wanted us to have a third son <3
I’m glad He did it when He did, because while I was pregnant with our 3rd son, my husband was diagnosed with testicular cancer. The chemotherapy he received for so many months sterilized my husband.
Everyone said we got married to young.
(me 15 him 18)
Had children to young. 15 thru 22)
But God has a plan for us all.

So you’re not alone. But I’m amazed at how many people are amazed at the fact we are still married…

Thanks for sharing! I hope you an your husband are both well now.

 

[Moneyball]

Moneyball, you sound a little OCD about your faith–or what people on these forums call “scrupulous.” This is a situation in which religious scruples could cause unnecessary bodily harm to your wife. What does SHE have to say about it? Do you feel you are permitted to make life-and-death decisions for your wife?

With all due respect, this comment is unhelpful. It is precisely because I love my wife that I owe it to her to do some research on the subject so that we can both make an informed decision. Seeking under what circumstances a hysterectomy is or isn’t morally licit does not constitute as scrupulosity, it’s simply prudent imho.

 

[Rau]

Fixation in that a document from the Vatican had to be issued on it. Are there other documents on morality of removing other organs?

The document was addressing whether certain acts constitute contraception / sterilization. It was not second-guessing the need for medical treatment. The church does take the view that if getting pregnant is high risk, avoid getting pregnant (by licit means), but don’t take medical steps to prevent pregnancy unless those steps are medically necessary anyway.

 

[Rau]

Then what is the morally relevant difference between that and a pregnant woman seeking chemotherapy for her cancer? In both cases the the death of the child is foreseeable, but not intended.

Chemotherapy is directed at her medical need.