https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Tue, 28 Apr 2026 21:23:38 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-santorum-abortion-or-not#post-48532 Fri, 06 Jan 2012 22:58:25 +0000 mamimami 48532@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This seemed to clear things up: <a href="http://www.salon.com/2012/01/06/karen_santorum_did_not_have_an_abortion/" rel="nofollow">http://www.salon.com/2012/01/06/karen_santorum_did_not_have_an_abortion/</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-santorum-abortion-or-not#post-48476 Fri, 06 Jan 2012 21:22:39 +0000 tequiero21 48476@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@chopsuey119: =) yeah. that's why i'm torn. i guess i would just pray about it and hopefully, we'd be enlightened re: what we needed to do. i asked my hubby what he'd do and he said he didn't know. he's a doctor so i thought he'd say do the surgery. lol. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-santorum-abortion-or-not#post-48466 Fri, 06 Jan 2012 21:15:58 +0000 chopsuey 48466@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@tequiero21: DH said the exact thing! "god gives these "surgeries" as a way to take care of the baby." :) </p> <p>I'm not familiar with the story either. who knows what really happened anyway. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-santorum-abortion-or-not#post-48454 Fri, 06 Jan 2012 21:04:50 +0000 tequiero21 48454@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>i'm not that familiar with the story, but i can tell you that i'm not sure what i would have done. some people have mentioned that they wouldn't do the surgery and let god take care of the baby. but sometimes, god gives these "surgeries" as a way to take care of the baby.</p> <p>it's like that story about a drowning man. he declined all this help because he said god would save him. then he died and asked god why he didn't save him. god said he tried but the man wouldn't accept. </p> <p>i do NOT consider what she did an "abortion" and i think people are really trying to stretch it by saying it is. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-santorum-abortion-or-not#post-48361 Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:14:48 +0000 plantains 48361@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't know whwether it was abortion or not, but I find it really tough to believe that someone who has experienced such a thing would be against abortion even if there is a prospect of maternal death. Just seems like pure hypocrisy and lack of compassion to me. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-santorum-abortion-or-not#post-48356 Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:04:54 +0000 yoursilverlining 48356@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think its too hard to say whether it was abortion or not; or how I feel about the situation because we’ll never get the straight answer of what actually happened. It’s certainly very plausible that the course of action she/they decided on would be considered a medical abortion or termination of the pregnancy, especially if they used drugs which induce labor knowing that the fetus was not viable outside the womb. </p> <p>I do think its interesting how "gray" this story is (as are most real life situations), especially coming from a candidate who now advocates "black and white" regulations including for no exception for a mother's health, and criminal charges for doctors. </p> <p>As a woman and a person, I find Santorum’s politics to be incredibly offensive, and I'm very sorry his wife found herself in what had to be a terrible situation - which is all I’ll say about that as this isn’t meant to be a debate. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-santorum-abortion-or-not#post-48355 Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:02:55 +0000 cyneswith 48355@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Rock n Roll: Several versions I read concurred that the antibiotics caused her to go into labor (a known risk), as opposed to a separate medication/procedure for that purpose, and she asked for drugs to STOP the labor. If that was the case, then I don't see it as an abortion. If it is, every mom who does ANYTHING known to cause miscarriage is attempting abortion. Of course, there are a lot of "if"s in there.</p> <p>I wasn't planning on voting for him anyway, so it doesn't really matter. I also don't intend to do anything if anatomy scans show abnormalities. So I suppose that's the extent of my opinion on the matter. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-santorum-abortion-or-not#post-48340 Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:51:34 +0000 Rock n Roll 48340@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@cyneswith: The arguments I have seen are that the early labor/delivery was actually induced (not naturally occurring) and that inducing early labor when a fetus is not viable is essentially abortion (which makes sense, since that is how some first trimester abortion pills work). </p> <p>But the responsive argument is it was NOT induced and happened naturally. Basically there are a lot of semantics around it and defining what constitutes an abortion and who did what, etc. Who knows what happened at the time? Everyone in the room either is bound by professional ethics not to speak of it or has an agenda. Obviously they didn't want the baby to die or they wouldn't have had the surgery to save him in the first place. But if they chose to have the baby early when it wasn't viable to save the mother, then it seems hypocritical for him not to support other women to save their lives in the same manner. But quite honestly, I wasn't there and can't really judge them either way, because like I said, it's a pretty crappy situation no matter what happened. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-santorum-abortion-or-not#post-48335 Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:44:31 +0000 mediagirl 48335@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Interesting. I have my anatomy scan next Thursday and now I'm all freaked out. I don't know what I would do. I once said I wouldn't have first or second trimester testing done but decided to do that in the second trimester to make sure we were prepared for any issues that our baby may have. I think you make that decision between you, your partner and God when you HAVE to make a decision like that and you live with the consequences.</p> <p>I'm not commenting on the story about Santorum because we don't know exactly what happened. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-santorum-abortion-or-not#post-48326 Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:35:25 +0000 mrsjazz 48326@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I've read so many conflicting reports about this. Some saying that the antibiotics may have caused her to go into labor and other articles saying that labor was induced. Not really sure what to believe, but I think it's still a pretty thin line and a fuzzy gray area for a candidate with such strong anti-abortion views. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-santorum-abortion-or-not#post-48310 Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:14:06 +0000 cyneswith 48310@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I wouldn't have done the surgery in the first place, but I would take the antibiotics if I got to that point in the scenario. If she hadn't, the baby would've STILL died. She tried to get drugs to stop the labor, but was refused. She did all she could to save the baby - so I'm not sure how that was an abortion. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-santorum-abortion-or-not#post-48261 Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:41:32 +0000 chopsuey 48261@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I wouldn't have opted for the surgery either. I'm all about leaving things in God's hands. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-santorum-abortion-or-not#post-48249 Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:30:46 +0000 Mrs. Pickle 48249@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't think that is abortion because she did not decide to terminate her pregnancy. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-santorum-abortion-or-not#post-48210 Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:56:38 +0000 mrsjyw 48210@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It is a complicated story, I think if I were in their shoes, I would have opted not to have the "optional" surgery and let God do His will in the longevity of the baby with its abnormality. There are so many stories of babies born with delibitating, life-threatening disorders and them surpassing the time of what the "doctors predict." I'd leave it up to God and mourn the loss as His plan for the baby. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-santorum-abortion-or-not#post-48205 Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:51:57 +0000 Rock n Roll 48205@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So, ever since Santorum did well at the Iowa caucuses, I've been hearing a lot about the loss of his son during his wife's pregnancy. (For non-US folk out there, basically a potential candidate for presidency who is very anti-abortion and his wife lost their baby in a way which is being deemed an abortion by some and not by others.)</p> <p>I don't want to start a political debate or an abortion debate, but I guess I wonder what other people out there are thinking about it. I'm right around the same point in pregnancy his wife was when this all happened with their son, so I've been doing a lot of soul searching about what I would do in their position. My anatomy scan isn't scheduled until I'm 22 weeks, but what if they find something? </p> <p>I know I wouldn't have a deliberate abortion, just because I would not be able to do that with my personal moral beliefs. But their situation was not quite that. From what I've read, they found out during their anatomy screening that their child had an abnormality that would most likely kill it. In an effort to save the baby, they had surgery performed on the child while it was still in the womb. During the surgery, there was an infection, and the mother got sick. Doctors told her that she needed antibiotics or she could go into septic shock, so she did. She went into early labor (as either a result of the antibiotics or her body trying to reject the fetus, which was now the source of infection- there seem to be varying accounts on this.) There are also varying accounts on whether or not they used pitocin to help progress the labor to deliver the child. Since the child was born so prematurely (19-20 weeks), it did not survive.</p> <p>The argument is basically, they could have rejected the antibiotics and both mother and child would have died, and that by choosing the antibiotics, and effectively to deliver before viability, it was an abortion. (This is a big issue because Santorum is said to be against abortion even in cases of rape, incest, and maternal death.)</p> <p>Anyway, like I said, I'm not really interested in arguing if abortion is right or wrong, or whether Republicans or Democrats are worse, but more about the actual story itself. I think I would have opted against any intervention, including the original surgery that caused the infection that led to early labor. But what a tough choice! Incredibly risky surgery that MIGHT save the baby, or do nothing and just hope for the best.</p> <p>I'm just going to hope my baby is a-ok and I never have to make those kinds of tough choices. </p>