44yr old gravid female with previous 6 children, was diagnosed with
carcinoma in situ of cervix (early stage cancer of womb). so total
removal of uterus( woomb) considered with fetus in situ, for long
life of the female.
so abortion was inevitable for future health of the lady.
arsasian, giupaint, katkaszabo, and 128 other people added this photo to their favorites.
+ Add
suparna sinha
drsuparna
Member since 2007
Photo license:
Some rights reserved
View 20 more comments
Pollywog Creek 32 months ago | reply
Wow!
Pastazia 32 months ago | reply
Would it have been possible to delay surgery in a case like this so that the baby would have had a chance at survival? "Early stage" makes it seem as though the patient could have waited, but I'm not a doctor. Hopefully this little one will someday meet his/her family.
~Staci Lee~ 32 months ago | reply
How hard this must have been for you as a doctor. While my mind understands that she needs to have the best chance of life for her 6 children, my heart breaks for her seventh.
jjellybaby 28 months ago | reply
That's really amazing...
argyle plaids 27 months ago | reply
so beautiful, amazing and sad.
WoW.
SaiktT 25 months ago | reply
surreal... so sad!
wonko600rr 24 months ago | reply
Sad yes, but a necessary sacrifice for the mother to make, so she can hopefully continue to live a long life and look after her 6 children.
Those saying 'abortion is a crime' have to see the circumstances surrounding it! What is better? 6 children with a mother? or 7 without one?
SaiktT 24 months ago | reply
I commend you for putting this up. And thanks for the ethical explanation. I agree with you... Ethics is a contextual process... a three year degree in ethics would say the same. Generalisations however are tedious.
restiform body 24 months ago | reply
what nobody notices is that the foetus we are looking at has just died, or is dying, from hypoxia. not a very pleasant way to go. i have no issue with the reason the abortion was performed, or the fact that it was, but just wish to point out that entities in situations that make them photographable, and that look pretty and fascinating may be suffering, unbeknownst to us because we can't recognise the signs
Slrman42 [deleted] 23 months ago | reply
Pope Ratzinger will condemn to hell the mother, doctor and all who participated in this sad, but necessary surgery. Her other six children will continue to have the love and nurturing of a healthy mother. Perhaps that doesn't matter to the anti-abortion fanatics?
Those people go to hell, but not the pedophiles he has protected. Does anyone else see the hypocrisy?
Stephen Branley 23 months ago | reply
@Bogdan
Yes, I'm not convinced abortion is a crime because, unlike you, I realise that not everything is black and white. Is this abortion a crime? That's what this is - the fetus has been aborted to save the Mother's life (albeit it as a side-effect of having the womb removed) - do we consider this a crime, or is the greater crime to allow the mother to die?
Hoxtea 23 months ago | reply
Without condemning or condoning the situation, this is an incredibly powerful image.
From a religious point of view, it shows both the simplicity of our beginnings, and the purity of a new soul.
From a biological point of view, it shows the complexity of developing life, and the genius of nature's design.
And from a human point of view, it shows just how incredibly reliant on one another we are, and the consequences of choices we are forced to make.
dfgdfa 21 months ago | reply
"Pope Ratzinger will condemn to hell the mother, doctor and all who participated in this sad, but necessary surgery."
This is not true: According to ethics and Catholic laws, the baby's life was lost "accidentally" in the course of an otherwise morally good action. It is called the Principle of Double Effect: You may not directly kill the baby for the purpose of killing the baby, but you may remove cancer from the mother's body, even if doing so has the known and unavoidable side effect of indirectly killing the baby.
dfgdfa 21 months ago | reply
Drsuparna, can you tell us how soon after removal/disruption of blood supply this picture was taken, and therefore what the likelihood is that the embryo is still alive in this picture?
1978Steph 20 months ago | reply
Wow what a picture! I am 10 weeks along, and was showing our 5 year old daughter what her sibling may look like right now. This image clearly helped her understand the amniotic sac, which had been a little abstract for her. Thank you for posting.
HKateD 18 months ago | reply
It wasn't truly an abortion as the intent was never to kill the child. This is an incredible photo and terribly sad for you all. Thank you for sharing.
-June1- 17 months ago | reply
@dfgdfa: Thank you. Exactly. The same principle applies to ectopic pregnancies. You may remove the fallopian tube without touching the baby within, even if it means the baby will pass away, if I'm not mistaken. Still an excruciating decision.
jlangfeld 13 months ago | reply
How can I get permission to print this image in an educational publication?
syner_genetics 8 months ago | reply
hannbann5678 18 hours ago | reply