Here’s another story that bugs me, but I can’t seem to form a coherent opinion one way or the other.
A Utah woman has been charged with first-degree murder for allegedly refusing to undergo a Caesarean section that apparently could have saved the life of her stillborn baby.
Prosecutors in Salt Lake City say Melissa Ann Rowland, 28, declined the medical procedure for cosmetic reasons, even though doctors repeatedly warned her near the end of her pregnancy that the lives of the twins she was carrying were at risk.
Rowland gave birth in January. One of the twins apparently died two days before the delivery.
Charged Thursday, Rowland is being held in lieu of $250,000 bond at Salt Lake County jail. She has been behind bars since January on another criminal charge, child endangerment, for allegedly taking drugs that could harm the infant who survived her pregnancy. If convicted of murder, Rowland would face five years to life in prison.
Prosecutors contend that Rowland told a hospital nurse that she would rather “lose one of the babies” than be scarred by the Caesarean section, which requires a surgical incision to the abdomen. They are accusing her of “depraved indifference to human life.”
I am ardently pro-choice, yet I also think that this story is both tragic and disgusting. As a man, I can never know what it means to make a choice like that, but I can tell you that I am horrified at this woman’s reasoning.
At the same time, the legislation that anti-choice activists have gotten through that calls the death of a fetus “murder” is a transparent ploy to stop abortion. In this case, however, there’s no fetus involved. It was a full term child.
Cripes, this is complicated. My feelings about the whole thing are conflicted and bizarre, but irrelevant for the most part. That’s because I feel that any man who decides to take a stand or legislate on this issue is wasting his time. He’ll never know enough about it to form a truly reasoned opinion.
So, I’ll leave this issue up to the female bloggers out there. I’ve got my hands full worrying about marriage issues.
