J F Drane-Edinboro University, PA 16444
1992
Abstract
This article is directed to hospital communities where absolute proscriptions exist against abortion. The assumption is that many will be Catholic institutions and therefore Catholic moral teachings are examined carefully. By addressing anti-abortion arguments in the context of anencephaly, I hope to show that within even the most conservative moral traditions, humane exceptions to absolute proscriptions against abortion can be justified. More specifically, the article is directed to HECs which either have unstated or ambiguous policies on abortion. It will attempt to show what a reasonable policy could look like and how it could be defended. For committee members not involved in policy questions about abortion, it may stimulate some ethical discussion.
Anencephaly
ย Anencephaly, an always fatal neural tube defect, is posited to represent an instance where abortion is justified even within the most conservative anti-abortion traditions. Thus, Catholic hospital ethics committees are urged to adopt policies that provide pregnant women carrying an anencephalic fetus and hospital staff with freedom to act outside of traditional policies regarding the right to life of the fetus. The ethical justification for a relaxation of policy in this case rests on the premise that the purpose of pregnancy is to bring an emerging human to viability and independent existence.
Because anencephalic fetuses have no capacity for human experience and the biological substrate essential for consciousness is absolutely lacking, the fetus must be regarded as a dying rather than emerging person. Removal of such a fatally flawed fetus thus should not be regarded as an act of murder, just as removal of an ectopic pregnancy or a cancerous pregnant uterus is not, and the moral imperative to accept the pregnancy should be waived.
It is recommended that Catholic hospitals permit abortion of an anencephalic fetus if the medical diagnosis is firm and the pregnant woman makes an informed, free choice. Medical and nursing personnel who participate in such procedures should be provided with ethical education to avoid accusations of a violation of Catholicism’s respect for human life. If a woman decides to carry an anencephalic fetus to term, this decision should be respected by staff.