Sarah
has been Dr. Papke’s best friend since they were in grade school.
Dr. Papke is an OB/GYN and
today her best friend, Sarah, is coming in for a routine ultrasound at St.
Elizabeth’s Catholic Hospital. Dr. Papke is excited to see Sarah, because she
and her husband, Brian, have been trying to conceive for years now and it
finally happened. Dr. Papke talks to Sarah during her ultrasound, but then
becomes quiet when she sees the screen. Dr. Papke asks Sarah if she has had any
pain in her lower back and/or pelvic area. Sarah, now a bit frightened that Dr.
Papke is asking her this, responds by saying “yes, I have, but I thought that
was normal?” Dr. Papke starts a pelvic exam. In doing so, Sarah winces at the
tenderness of her uterus and fallopian tubes. Dr. Papke conducts a vaginal
ultrasound, she finds no signs of the developing fetus in the uterus. Sarah notices Dr. Papke’s concerned look on
her face and asks if anything is wrong with her baby. Dr. Papke reveals to Sarah
that she is having an ectopic pregnancy. Dr. Papke explains that this kind of
pregnancy occurs when the fetus is developing outside of the womb. In ectopic
pregnancy, the fetus cannot survive, and if Sarah were to go full term and
deliver the baby, she has a less than 5% chance of survival after child birth.
Sarah is a strict Catholic and doesn’t believe in abortion, and she classifies
this as abortion. However, as the doctor you think that she should end the
pregnancy now so she doesn’t hurt herself. Would you be willing to risk losing
your best friend for a child who is medically already dead?
--Written by Elizabeth Puzniak
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