Phx Nun excommunicated for allowing life-saving abortion

[dbackjon]

A Catholic nun and longtime administrator of St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix was reassigned in the wake of a decision to allow a pregnancy to be ended in order to save the life of a critically ill patient.

The decision also drew a sharp rebuke from Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted, head of the Phoenix Diocese, who indicated the woman was "automatically excommunicated" because of the action.



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[dbackjon]

The actions involving the administrator, mostly taken within the past couple of weeks, followed a last-minute, life-or-death drama in late 2009. The patient had a rare and often fatal condition in which a pregnancy can cause the death of the mother.

Sister Margaret McBride, who had been vice president of mission integration at the hospital, was on call as a member of the hospital's ethics committee when the surgery took place, hospital officials said. She was part of a group of people, including the patient and doctors, who decided upon the course of action.

[catamount man]

She willingly participated in the murder of an unborn human being. She SHOULD be excommunicated.

[dbackjon]

She willingly participated in the murder of an unborn human being. She SHOULD be excommunicated.

So the life of the fetus is more important than the life of the mother?

[youngterrier]

do Catholics excommunicate murderers? (edit:I'm not talking about people who get abortions, just murder in general)

[∞∞∞]

Can someone tell me what the point of excommunication is? Can't you still work for, or even open a church not recognized by the Vatican? In a religious context and in the "eyes of God," does it even matter if you're recognized by the Vatican?

And for this story, it seems like someone was going to die regardless. Tough choice for the nun, but I wouldn't call this "murder." She's on an ethics committee for a reason, and it's not because she's a killer.

[JoltinJoe]

Well, it's really not all that clear that the abortion was necessary to save the life of the woman, despite the initial paragraph, is it?

In the fourth paragraph: "The patient had a rare and often fatal condition in which pregnancy can cause the death of the mother." There is a fair amount of qualification in that statement.

It's pretty clear from the article that we will never have enough information to form an informed opinion on this issue. "The patient was not identified, and details of her case cannot be revealed under federal privacy laws."

The bishop's statement indicates that he does not believe it to be the case. I wonder if he has the details of the case. It is the remarkably rare case that an abortion is actually necessary to save the life of the mother, but it seems that the bishop probably does not know all the details.