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A Moral Dilemma in Health Care

By on September 9, 2012

The discussion about morality, ethics and values in health care delivery has surfaced a dilemma that needs to be addressed.

Right-to-lifers, who were very active in framing the Republican platform in Tampa last month, are pretty tough on exceptions. While some might allow a mother to terminate an unwanted pregnancy in the cases of rape and incest, a majority of those at the convention would not. These are the same folks behind the personhood concept —  that life begins at conception. Some go even further, prohibiting a woman from interfering with conception.

I sincerely respect those who regard life as precious. The ability to bring life into the world is a privilege not to be taken lightly. Luckily my wife and I were never forced to make any decisions about her three pregnancies. Being a doctor, one of my biggest fears was having a child with severe defects or problems that would impact the quality of everyone’s life. I had seen babies with no quality of life treated like human dolls by disappointed parents determined to hang on to what little they had. Sometimes the bills were astronomic. Quality of life is always an important consideration.

The dilemma comes when these folks, who so rigidly demand life of any quality, then  turn around and deny financial support to the same child, because it belongs to a ‘welfare’ mother or a ‘slacker’ mother who cannot financially meet the child’s needs. Children with special needs can be very costly to raise. In our current economy it is not a given that even a middle class American with a decent job can afford the bills that come with these children. It may be impossible for the mother to work and give the child all the attention needed. Add to that the fact that the child was the result of forcible rape or incest and you have a pretty indefensible position.

Conservative ideologues must be forced to examine their positions from a reasonable point-of-view. No one in Tampa seemed to have the guts to do that. It defies logic to demand birth and then turn around and block the support it will need on-going to the grave. It only hurts the child, who is as blameless as anyone. The crusading Conservative may regard this as an expression of pure faith, but I know no bone fide religion that treats children so heartlessly, to say nothing about the poor mother.

Now that the conventions are over, it is time to turn on our brains again and think.

Tom Godfrey

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