Family Life

selective reduction: making a choice

baby-in-utero

I think Australia has been a little bit worked up the last couple of days after sixty minutes aired a story on “selective reduction”. It was a little controversial. Admittingly, I was also a little emotional watching it.

Selective reduction is the process of aborting one or more foetuses in a multiple pregnancy. The procedure is generally carried out in the first trimester where potassium chloride is injected into the foetus’s heart. Within a few minutes, the heart stops beating.

Sixty minutes interviewed one mother who had triplets naturally and decided to under go the procedure to reduce her pregnancy to one foetus. Another mother who fell pregnant with triplets via IVF and also decided to undergo the procedure. And one mother who decided to keep all three of her babies.

But what is different about these stories is that the two women that decided to “reduce” the number of babies did so out of lifestyle choices. NOT out of medical reasons.

I am all for choices. I am all for individuals being able to have the options to make certain choices. But if someone decides to embark on the journey of parenthood, this is a lifestyle choice! This is a choice that comes with responsibilities. This is what I can not get my head around.

But maybe with this certain choice there is an act of responsibility.

I had to under go IVF with both my pregnancies. Getting pregnant naturally was not a choice. Was not an option. I am very fortunate that I live in a society that has such a choice available to me. It is a tough and grilling process. But I am so blessed to have two beautiful babies as a result of my two pregnancies.

But if I choose to inject two embryos and one split, resulting in three foetuses… well this is a result of the choice I originally made. A mother must go into that process knowing that that may happen. How can one not?

These women interviewed had their own reasons. Every person who ever makes a certain decision has their own reasons. Maybe some would call it selfish. Maybe some would call it honesty and actually taking responsibility for what they know they can and can not cope with, emotionally and financially. Sometimes taking responsibility is making hard decisions, life and death situations.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw the footage of the needle being injected. Getting pregnant was such a blessing to me. Although there is huge debate of when life starts and begins, the thought of terminating would not be an option.

But my decision, my beliefs, my ways are not always that of others. And everyone else may or may not think differently. This is the beauty about us all as individuals, that we do have individual thoughts, beliefs, dreams and capabilities.

I certainly would not want to make such an impossible choice.

Did you watch this program?

What are your thoughts? 

This story got me thinking. So I want to share it with you too, with Diary of SAHM

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  • http://www.nicolehastings.com Nicole

    I think the same as you, if you go into IVF you have to expect two or three babies might come of it. I couldn’t watch, it was on, and when that needle went in I cried.

    • Tahlia

      there were a few tears all round i think! xx

  • http://www.theusefulbox.com Julie

    Wow. That sounds like a hard show to watch. I’m sure I would have been teary too. I wonder how common “selective reduction” is?

    Personally, as a mother (who worked hard to get pregnant first time around), I could never consider this. Don’t get me wrong, I would not enjoy a multiple pregnancy, and I can’t even imagine trying to parent more than one newborn! But I just wonder how you could possibly choose which one goes… you would really have to see your foetus as a foetus and not a baby… and I can’t see it that way. My second, and especially my third babies were not conceived at convenient times for us. They were surprises, coming in rapid succession after #1. But, I couldn’t feel anything but thrilled, especially after the effort we went to first time around. And, looking at them now, I can’t imagine not having either of them!

    Also, as a Christian, “selective reduction” goes against the value I believe God places on every single life… I know many people don’t share this belief however.

    • Tahlia

      It was a little challenging to watch Julie. A little emotional at times. Interestingly one mum saw her foetus’ as the “potential of life” and not babies. We all have our own beliefs x

  • http://nearlynotquite.com Tam

    I hate this. I hate the whole stupid term “selective reduction” I hate that 60 minutes showed me an abortion that I was not expecting to see when I happened to walk into the room (after a disclaimer aired), and I have felt dirty from watching that baby die ever since.

    Most of all I hate that I watched a potentially healthy baby die at the hands of someone else, when my very sick and so wanted baby died becuase we just.couldn’t.fix.her.

    I don’t judge women for the choices they make for their families, for me it was never an option despite different medical professionals trying to get us to terminate our sick baby. I don’t judge women who have a negative prenatal diagnosis, have complicated family backgrounds, who were assaulted or feel that they just can’t have this baby. But to ‘not want’ multiples after you’ve undertaken IVF to fall pregnant initally? oh I am judging the pants off those ones.

    • Tahlia

      For me it was the whole using IVF and then terminating. Just doesn’t make sense. Certainly an issue that has got people talking and a few questions asked.

      I had actually never heard the term “selective reduction” before and wonder… what are we really selecting?

      thanks for your comments Tam x

  • http://familyofkillers.com Lyndal

    i didn’t actually catch this episode – however it is recorded on my iQ – and i did watch twitter explode. Firstly, thank you for the warning of what I would have seen, because I am pretty sure I do not want to watch this now, and I am thankful that I did not.
    I really liked your comment about results of our choices – be it one baby or three, and have to agree that the fact that there was no medical reasons for ‘reducing’ the other two is personally horrifying. And upsetting.
    I think it is hard. life is hard. And i would hope (and suspect, well, pray) that there would have been massive thoughts and discussions about all aspects of the decision. But then – we are all individuals who have to live the rest of our days dealing with the consequences of our decisions.

  • http://diaryofaSAHM.net Jess

    I didn’t see it, but i just can’t get on board with this kind of thinking. I like to hve an open mind, but I don’t understand how you could do this.