(Brookfield, WI) – Today, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) published a news release entitled “Pregnant Wisconsinites Are Ensured Lifesaving Care” saying that “state and federal laws require hospitals to provide appropriate emergency care, including abortion care” under the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). Read the Wisconsin DHS news release here. In this news release, Wisconsin DHS Secretary Kirsten Johnson claims, “There are a number of situations in which an individual who is pregnant may face a health care emergency and the only option may be emergency abortion care.”
Pro-Life Wisconsin Legislative Director Matt Sande offered the following comments in response to the Wisconsin DHS news release:
Abortion is not healthcare. It cannot be stated enough.
There are no situations where abortion, statutorily defined as the intentional killing of an unborn child, is medically necessary to save the life or improve the health of the mother. Equal care for mother and unborn baby in a health emergency is the antithesis of intentionally killing a preborn, living human being. Medical emergency early inductions and cesarean sections seek to separate baby from mom in a concerted effort to save both lives. They are not abortions.
Furthermore, medical procedures intended to save the life of a pregnant mother, and not intended to kill her preborn baby, are not abortions. For example, removal of a miscarriage or stillborn fetus is not an abortion. Sadly, and obviously, the preborn baby is already dead. Removal of an ectopic pregnancy, where a fertilized ovum (egg) lodges in the fallopian tube and grows there, is not an abortion. The damaged portion of the tube containing the embryonic baby may be removed where it is clearly necessary to prevent rupture and save the mother’s life. Such a procedure is justified by the principle of double effect, because the death of the child is an unintended effect of an operation independently justified to save the mother’s life. It does not involve the intentional killing of an unborn child. Someday, medical science may be capable of transferring the embedded embryo directly into the uterine wall, but this method is not standardized at present.
Legally, the above-described medical operations are not considered abortions. None have ever been prosecuted by any district attorney in this country, even when the mother’s life was not immediately threatened. Physicians must make their best effort to save both patients, giving equal care to mother and child. They should never be permitted to intentionally kill either of them.
For more information on equal care for a pregnant mother and her preborn child in an emergency medical situation, visit ProLifeWI.org/debunking-abortion-myth.
CONTACT:Matt Sande, Pro-Life Wisconsin Legislative DirectorP: 262-352-0890E: Matt.S@ProLifeWI.org
