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Does the mother or the baby take priority?

(31 Posts)
FlicketyB Thu 09-Jan-14 09:36:24

I think this has happened before, and in the UK, although I think the mother was 7 or 8 months pregnant. They kept her on the life support equipment so that the child could mature a bit more, increasing its chances of being healthy and viable when born. I think the outcome was just that; a healthy baby who was only a few weeks rather than a few months premature.

Aka Thu 09-Jan-14 09:30:38

It's not necessarily against her wishes. Nobody wants to be kept alive when in a vegetative state, but things alter when you are pregnant, it's not just your life any more. Reading between the lines the husband and family fear that the baby might be damaged too due to lack of oxygen when the mother collapsed and died.

whenim64 Thu 09-Jan-14 09:29:34

How tragic for the family. To lose the baby, too, would be even more tragic. I think the baby should be given a chance to live and they're being supported whilst the baby is allowed to reach a viable stage. Such mixed emotions they will be experiencing when the mother is allowed to die after delivering the baby.

annodomini Thu 09-Jan-14 09:20:39

Oh dear! This can't go on .... I'm inclined to agree with jings.

jinglbellsfrocks Thu 09-Jan-14 08:47:10

I assume the woman is completely out of it, so where is the harm in keeping her going for another few months to give her child the chance of life? What would be gained by switching off her life support and thereby killing the child?

I think in these cases the authorities have usually got it right.

Humbertbear Thu 09-Jan-14 08:36:34

I am intrigued by the case of the young woman in Texas who is being kept alive against not only her own wishes but those of her parents and husband because she is pregnant and turning off the life support machine would also kill the unborn baby. I do not know the answer to this moral conundrum as I can see both sides of the argument. The woman concerned was DNR and her husband agreed with her. It must be horrible for the family to have to wait 5 months before they can begin to grieve for her. On the other hand, why does Texas law put the life of the baby over the wishes of everyone else concerned. I also wonder why the husband is prepared to honour his wife's wishes rather than want the baby to be born as a sibling to their 14 month old son.
All in all a modern dilemma.