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Reprint of letter dated April 23, 1999, from Jill, RN, to Christ Hospital Executives
What follows is the body of an April 23,
1999 letter to executives at Christ Hospital regarding therapeutic abortion. It was
addressed to specific individuals but to protect the writer's identity, we have eliminated
their names. Otherwise, this letter appears as originally written.
Christ Hospital & Medical Center,
4440 West 95th Street
Oak Lawn, Illinois 60453
Dear Christ Hospital Executives:
When I graduated from nursing school in 1993, Christ Hospital was the only hospital that I
applied at to work. I focused my attention professionally on Christ because I felt it had
the best reputation medically in the south suburbs and because I was confident that no
elective abortions were performed here since it is a faith based hospital. I was so sure
of the latter that when I transferred to Labor & Delivery in September 1995, it never
even occurred to me to ask about hospital policy on abortion. I was just certain that this
wasn't an issue.
You can thus imagine my dismay when I came to work one evening to learn in report an
abortion was being performed in the department. This abortion was being done because the
baby had Down*s Syndrome. It was being termed a 'therapeutic' abortion. I learned that
abortions of this type are performed at Christ every so often, and I have since witnessed
several other abortions here. However, I have never observed a
"therapeutic" abortion in the true sense of the term, that being to save the
life of the mother. The abortions I have observed have been elective abortions, performed
due to defects in the baby such as Down's or any one of a number of chromosomal
abnormalities, or physical defects which have been decided to either be incompatible with
life or incompatible with a "quality" life.
It is L&D policy that a nurse does not have to receive assignment of a patient in the
process of having an abortion performed if the nurse*s moral or religious belief disallows
it. However, nurses such as myself who do indeed refuse to take these patients are still
implicated. I have personally witnessed two babies who have been aborted alive (and this
is actually not an unusual occurrence). Neither time did the mother nor father want to
hold and care for
the baby until s/he passed from this life. Department policy in this case is to provide
comfort care to the child until s/he dies. Once, I held the aborted baby in a warm blanket
for the 45 minutes it took for him to die. The other time a co-working Support Associate
did the same. Can you imagine the revulsion of this? The only situation that could be
worse was as an RN colleague related to me, a night when she did not have the time to
personally care for one of these infants. Since we have no place designated to keep these
babies, this one had to be left to die alone in the Soiled Utility Room.
The abortion issue is huge and complicated. There are several angles I could discuss at
this point in my letter, but I would like to limit my scope to comparing the Christ
Hospital Mission Statement to our current abortion policy. The Mission Statement is as
follows:
"The mission of Advocate Health Care is to serve the health needs of individuals,
families and communities through a wholistic philosophy rooted in our fundamental
understanding of human beings as created in the image of God."
This Mission Statement is in harmony with Biblical Scripture. Probably the most poignant
passage on the subject of humans being special and unique from inception is Psalm
139:13-18:
"You alone created my inner being. You knitted me together inside my mother. I will
give thanks to you because I have been so amazingly and miraculously made... My bones were
not hidden from you when I was being made in secret, when I was being skillfully woven in
an underground workshop. Your eyes saw me when I was only a fetus. Every day of my life
was recorded in your book before one of them had taken place."
Christ Hospital bears the name of Jesus and is spiritually overseen by no less than two
Christian denominations, the Lutheran and United Church of Christ faiths. I appeal to the
leaders of these faiths as well as hospital management who oversee the ethical operations
of Christ Hospital to change our current abortion policy.
The aforementioned aborted children may indeed have been destined to die, but I believe it
is incongruent with our Mission Statement to intervene directly to take their lives.
Rather, we should teach parents alternative approaches and frames of mind to bringing
defective children into the world which would be consistent with our medical ethics, our
Mission Statement, and our hospital's strong Judeo-Christian base. This approach would be
to encourage treatment of these children as imperfect but still as special as you or I, as
we are all created in the image of God. I am aware of a couple to whom abortion was
recommended because of a congenital defect in their child. They chose, however, to carry
their baby to term and were able to hold and love her for the 20 minutes that she lived.
This is an example of the guidance a Christian hospital should give.
I cannot speak to the anguish and lifestyle upheaval parents must endure who deliver
defective babies. I cannot speak to the anguish and physical pain an imperfect human being
may have to endure. I cannot speak as to why some babies are born only to die. Only God
can speak as to how and why He does things in His infinite wisdom. "Who gave humans
their mouths? Who makes humans unable to talk or hear? Who gives them sight or makes them
blind? It is I, the Lord!" (Exodus 4:11) We cannot take his place.
Our Mission Statement is prominently displayed in various places throughout the hospital,
one location being above our front entrance doors. I must walk through those doors each
evening that I come to work. It is very difficult for me to do so at this time.
Thank you in advance for your consideration.
Yours very truly,
Jill ------ Registered Nurse, Labor & Delivery
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