Seriously. Pro-Life. No Matter What.

On this post ("Why I'm Pro-Life... No Matter What"), I received the following anonymous comment:

Agreed with most of the post, but not with the "no matter what." The only major exception I can see is a threat to the mother's life. A fetus should not be given any more priority than the alive mother. Granted, this may constitute a small percentage of total cases, but it's a real viability and should be considered as such. I'd like to see that clearly addressed in your post.

Since it was left anonymously, I unfortunately cannot reply directly to the commenter. That's okay though... perhaps it's something I should address in a post. Odds are good that the commenter is not the only one who feels this way.

Here is my thinking...

First of all, we need to back up to that whole "a fetus should not be given any more priority than the alive mother" sentence. In my view, that sentence would look more like "a BABY is every bit as precious and deserving of life as the woman who carries him". It's all just a matter of perspective. While the use of the word "fetus" dehumanizes the child, the use of the word "mother" makes the woman seem all the more human. I'm also not exactly sure why the word "alive" is used to somehow differentiate the baby from the mother since that baby is also alive- unborn, but alive . I am not saying that the commenter's language is wrong; I'm just trying to explain why the title of my previous post holds true for me.

When my daughter C was born at 24 weeks, we elected (against the head OB's recommendation) to have the riskier surgery to give her her best shot. There was certainly the chance either one of us could die either way... there was also the chance that we might both survive either way. I remember- vividly- looking my husband in the eye and saying, "Whatever they have to do in there- no matter what is happening to me- you HAVE to stand up for this baby. Make sure they do what's best for our baby... that's most important to me." It didn't much matter that I was basically guaranteed survival with a vaginal delivery of a one pound baby while there was a slim chance that she'd survive no matter what I did.

Now, listen... I am not comparing my "risky surgery" with "sure death". I understand that there are women out there who are at grave risk... and I'm not saying that I think all of them should put their babies first....

I'm saying that I would. I AM pro-life... no matter what.

I hope that clearly addresses my stance on that one.