Abortion talk, without hyperbole
Aug. 18th, 2011 07:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kribbanMandatory joke: If I was a pro-lifer and American this post would be called "Thoughts on Life" (life spelled with capital L.)
I’ve been sitting on this post for a couple of weeks now. Apologies in advance for the bad English.
In Sweden the topic of abortion has been heavily debated since Easter. Being moderately anti-abortion, I've jumped on every article.
It all started when a nurse wrote to the National Board of Health and Welfare asking for guidance on what to do with aborted babies/fetuses that show life signs after birth. They’ve been talking about situations like this since I was in high school, but this is to my knowledge the first time it has been reported.
The National Board of Health and Welfare promised the nurse to develop guidelines for the hospitals. The press and “blogosphere” has been speculating on what those guidelines might be. One suggestion is to develop methods to kill the fetus within the womb and another is to give staff instructions on how to provide comfort care to it.
Of course the topic of lowering the limit has also been raised by columnists (including the lead op-ed columnist at Svenska Dagbladet) but that’s not going to happen.
Some background:
Swedish abortion law allows abortion prior to viability but bans it afterwards. (If the mother’s health is in danger after viability a “pregnancy termination” is performed.) The viability limit is based on the survival rate of premature babies and is constantly monitored and modified by the National Board of Health and Welfare. When I was a teenager the limit was 24 weeks. It is now 22 and will be lowered as viability creeps lower. The purpose of the law is to make sure no viable fetuses are aborted.
After week 28 a fetus is a child in the eyes of the law and is issued a birth and death certificate if still born.
Some personal observations:
The Board’s special council evaluates all abortion requests after week 18. If the fetus is deemed viable, the request is denied. The council always includes experienced OB-GYN doctors with the competence to determine this. This means Gianna Jessen-type scenarios cannot happen.
All late-term (post 18 weeks) in Sweden are induced labour abortions. Abroad both induced labour abortions and methods where the fetus is destroyed in the womb such as D&E are performed. Hence the gory pictures.
A doctor who is also a member of the Board was quoted as saying that to kill the fetus inside the womb would be seen as ethically problematic by staff and patients!
By inducing labour, you’re simply allowing nature to take its course. I think this is a fascinating point of view. The end results are the same, why do the method matter?
In Sweden the fetus always comes out in one piece and is always cremated and put to rest at a cemetary.
This means that We, the Swedish people, our institutions and government, value fetal life. That makes me feel good about being Swedish.
I have really, really changed my views on abortion in Sweden over the last couple of years. I used to think that our legislation was the most liberal possible. However, in the past eighteen months I’ve read many blog posts and comments from Canada and the US from writers that express the belief that personhood and human rights shouldn’t begin until birth. They believe that until the fetus has been completely delivered it is only a potential human being and can therefore be killed.
This has made me realise that while our laws are still far too liberal, they could be a whole lot worse. I appreciate the efforts of the Board to preserve what the law says is a valuable human life.
I just don't understand why they have chosen viability as a standard, and not something that can't be altered, like brain activity or brain development.
Viability only makes slightly more sense than birth.
Lastly:
I have an activist from the Swedish Center for Bioethical Reform (the people with the gory pictures) on my Twitterlist. She used to be an animal rights activist and she has a lot of experience showing graphic pictures to people. It's very fascinating to see pro-life activism in Sweden, and I'm happy that she seems to be treated well.
She's doing what I would have done at eighteen, had I had the courage and guts.
I’ve been sitting on this post for a couple of weeks now. Apologies in advance for the bad English.
In Sweden the topic of abortion has been heavily debated since Easter. Being moderately anti-abortion, I've jumped on every article.
It all started when a nurse wrote to the National Board of Health and Welfare asking for guidance on what to do with aborted babies/fetuses that show life signs after birth. They’ve been talking about situations like this since I was in high school, but this is to my knowledge the first time it has been reported.
The National Board of Health and Welfare promised the nurse to develop guidelines for the hospitals. The press and “blogosphere” has been speculating on what those guidelines might be. One suggestion is to develop methods to kill the fetus within the womb and another is to give staff instructions on how to provide comfort care to it.
Of course the topic of lowering the limit has also been raised by columnists (including the lead op-ed columnist at Svenska Dagbladet) but that’s not going to happen.
Some background:
Swedish abortion law allows abortion prior to viability but bans it afterwards. (If the mother’s health is in danger after viability a “pregnancy termination” is performed.) The viability limit is based on the survival rate of premature babies and is constantly monitored and modified by the National Board of Health and Welfare. When I was a teenager the limit was 24 weeks. It is now 22 and will be lowered as viability creeps lower. The purpose of the law is to make sure no viable fetuses are aborted.
After week 28 a fetus is a child in the eyes of the law and is issued a birth and death certificate if still born.
Some personal observations:
The Board’s special council evaluates all abortion requests after week 18. If the fetus is deemed viable, the request is denied. The council always includes experienced OB-GYN doctors with the competence to determine this. This means Gianna Jessen-type scenarios cannot happen.
All late-term (post 18 weeks) in Sweden are induced labour abortions. Abroad both induced labour abortions and methods where the fetus is destroyed in the womb such as D&E are performed. Hence the gory pictures.
A doctor who is also a member of the Board was quoted as saying that to kill the fetus inside the womb would be seen as ethically problematic by staff and patients!
By inducing labour, you’re simply allowing nature to take its course. I think this is a fascinating point of view. The end results are the same, why do the method matter?
In Sweden the fetus always comes out in one piece and is always cremated and put to rest at a cemetary.
This means that We, the Swedish people, our institutions and government, value fetal life. That makes me feel good about being Swedish.
I have really, really changed my views on abortion in Sweden over the last couple of years. I used to think that our legislation was the most liberal possible. However, in the past eighteen months I’ve read many blog posts and comments from Canada and the US from writers that express the belief that personhood and human rights shouldn’t begin until birth. They believe that until the fetus has been completely delivered it is only a potential human being and can therefore be killed.
This has made me realise that while our laws are still far too liberal, they could be a whole lot worse. I appreciate the efforts of the Board to preserve what the law says is a valuable human life.
I just don't understand why they have chosen viability as a standard, and not something that can't be altered, like brain activity or brain development.
Viability only makes slightly more sense than birth.
Lastly:
I have an activist from the Swedish Center for Bioethical Reform (the people with the gory pictures) on my Twitterlist. She used to be an animal rights activist and she has a lot of experience showing graphic pictures to people. It's very fascinating to see pro-life activism in Sweden, and I'm happy that she seems to be treated well.
She's doing what I would have done at eighteen, had I had the courage and guts.
