Women should be able to decide, yet the legislative debate has highlighted the weight of biomedical rhetoric and the medical profession’s ability to impede or facilitate pregnancy termination. Pregnancies and fetal anomalies incompatible with life in chile: Arguments and experiences in advocating for legal reform June 2017 Health and Human Rights 19(1):95-108 A patients private Physician, genetic counselor, or Primatologist, generally provides medical records that include documentation and diagnosis of fetal abnormalities that state that continuing the pregnancy will be a threat to the mother’s life, or health. warranted because of a lethal fetal anomaly incompatible with sustained life outside the uterus. CEDAW/C/1999/I/WG.II/WP.2/Rev.1 (1999), 28–29; Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Concluding Observations on Chile, UN Doc. The literature assured me I would deliver a dead infant. 26, 53. Questions posed to health care providers centered on medical and personal experiences and on their views on the decriminalization of abortion on fatal fetal anomaly grounds. But this wasn’t the attending; our gynecologist thought the baby was fine, that it was healthy … I breathed easier. But there is also the wrathful God. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights, in ordering provisional measures in B. v. El Salvador, required the state to ensure the life and integrity of B., a pregnant woman who had discoid lupus erythematosus and renal failure, compounded by an anencephalic fetus that placed her life, personal integrity, and health in imminent peril.31 The recommended medical protocol was termination, but El Salvador bans therapeutic abortion, and the courts declined to order access. Hydrops fetalis is a serious, life-threatening condition in which a fetus or newborn has an abnormal buildup of fluids in the tissue around the lungs, heart, or abdomen, or under the skin. Whether it's fetal anomaly incompatible with life or congenital malformation resulting in little or no life expectancy, all Chilean women are expected to carry their pregnancies to term. Interviews were done in person, digitally recorded, and transcribed for analysis. to see things through. While we contacted more women, the vast majority did not wish to be interviewed. The pro-life Perinatal Hospice Bill, HB 2685, was approved by the Health Committee to address that. Guilt takes the form of relentless questioning. They can’t sleep.”. CONGENITAL FETAL ANOMALIES Terminology Congenital means exist since birth, whether clinical evidences are obvious or not obvious. The plight facing women with a severe fetal congenital anomaly diagnosis differs from that of those who want to terminate a pregnancy in that the former are generally wanted pregnancies and the sense of loss is highly distinct.2 The literature notes that for women, the autonomy to decide whether to terminate or continue a pregnancy with fetal anomaly is of critical importance, and governments must provide counseling and care tailored to their needs.3. feel that somehow they have failed; that they are just unable to have healthy children. Pregnancy termination due to fetal anomalies has many psychological consequences for women. Life-Limiting Diagnosis When parents learn that their unborn child has fetal anomalies or genetic disorders that are incompatible with life (previously called fatal fetal diagnosis), or that the person giving birth's life is in danger, the decisions they are faced with are some of … -. This article tries to provide a nuanced portrait of women’s suffering and of the difficulties confronted by clinicians dealing with fetal malformation diagnoses in a country with an absolute abortion ban. Pregnancy brings exposure, compliments, and questions in public, at work, from relatives, and even from unaware health care workers. Start studying Ch 59 Fetal Neural Axis. 24, Women and Health, UN Doc. Many respondents agreed that more such centers are needed, as women who live far away have it much harder: in addition to the expense and emotional toll, they must also travel. While the absence of life expectancy after birth seems to remove the moral weight of allowing a decision to terminate, fear of misdiagnosis exposes the moral dilemma faced by health care providers. The aim is to secure a clear-cut diagnosis and determine possible antenatal care, not pregnancy termination. They played down the physical or health risks for the woman but agreed that these cases can have a major mental health impact. The mother, who was over 40, fully expected it to live and camped out at the hospital. Allowing a pregnant person to terminate a fetus with an anomaly, especially one so severe as to be incompatible with life, should be an easy exception to keep in … We also queried them on their views on liberalization of the law and its potential effects on clinical practice. A “lethal fetal anomaly” or condition “incompatible” with “sustained life” could be a treatable but ultimately life-limiting condition, like cystic fibrosis or a heart defect associated with Down syndrome. That said, I know for a fact that some doctors in private practice tell women about misoprostol. Contraception. Casas L., Vivaldi L. Informe anual sobre derechos humanos en Chile. Reprod Health. Failure to acknowledge this issue limits the chances for a humane response. E/C.12/1/Add.105. But as some noted, partners or relatives can also help empower women to make their own choices. Serious harm to psychological integrity can result in severe and chronic depression, pathological grief, and, as some respondents suggested, even suicidal ideation. Copyright © 2017 Casas and Vivaldi. Few women ask to induce a preterm birth … Some patients have secondary pathologies; if there is a health risk, termination can be moved up to 33 weeks. Up to 15 weeks or 500 grams in weight, it’s abortion. Some argue that the private sector affords more freedom of action, but inducing labor remains a hush topic. The abortion ban exposes women to otherwise avoidable risks, and medical practitioners distinguish between obstetric and mental health consequences. in cases of lethal fetal anomalies, or where the fetus is incompatible with sustained life outside the uterus. How and when a diagnosis is reported is key. 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