"In this tragic case, the treatment necessary to save the mother's life required the termination of an 11-week pregnancy," hospital vice president Susan Pfister said in an e-mail to the newspaper. She said the facility owned by Catholic Healthcare West adheres to the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services but that the directives do not answer all questions.In simpler times it would have assumed that a person sitting on the ethics committee of a Catholic institution would have had sufficient knowledge of Catholic teaching to make recommendations consistent with such teaching. Obviously the Church's position on abortion is well known to all but a few politicians. Less commonly understood is it's position where the danger to a mothers life is at stake. But just to prove that the abortion issue is not new, the Church has addressed this particular question in the 1800's. The answer is that you may not directly kill the baby even to save the life of the mother so it is disingenuous at best to suggest that their directives do not answer all questions. A person in Sister McBride's position would have known that and thus warranting the automatic excommunication she and the other administrator received. The full story can be read here.
And a quote from St. Gianna Beretta Molla who made the choice to save her daughter's life over her own.
"The doctor should not meddle. The right of the child is equal to the right of the mother’s life. The doctor can’t decide; it is a sin to kill in the womb."
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