(And removing a dead child from the mother is in no way an abortion).
Thank you. People keep bringing up medical issues like this and these situations aren’t even abortions.
Of course a dead fetus would have to be removed from the mother’s body . This is not even an abortion (in the sense they are talking about it here) since there is already no possibility of the child being born alive. The pregnancy didn’t last full term due to some accident or medical condition, but this was not because someone directly terminated the pregnancy.
Medically, a miscarriage is referred to as a “spontaneous abortion” — but this isn’t the same as directly terminating the pregnancy.
In cases of double effect, the direct intention is to save the mother’s life (via medication, a hysterectomy, etc.). Alhough in such cases the fetus may not survive, this is due to double effect or indirect effect — i.e.,the primary goal was to save the life of the mother. So potential damage/death to the fetus would be a secondary, or double, effect — i.e., it was not directly willed or intended — it was not the primary goal of the procedure.
