Reclaiming Our Children: A Blog About Healing After Abortion

Good for Archbishop Prendergast. As I have voiced many times, it appears many clergy do this, in the name of compassion when in effect they are not helping anyone. I pray that the Church really addresses this issue because it is not just happeningin Canada.

By John-Henry Westen

TORONTO, April 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The scandal of Catholic
priests advising expectant mothers, whose babies are diagnosed with
lethal fetal anomalies, that having an early induction in such cases is
not opposed to Catholic teaching, is not new.  The problem was already
apparent in 2002, and denounced then by Archbishop Terrence Prendergast
in a column in The Catholic Register.

The
issue came to the fore recently after LifeSiteNews.com published an
exposé of such recommendations and procedures at St. Joseph’s Catholic
hospital in London Ontario.  Fr. Michael Prieur, the ethical director
at the hospital, is responsible for the practice and believes it in
synch with Catholic teaching.

Two mothers revealed to LSN that they were advised by Fr. Prieur that
early induction would be permissible according to Catholic teaching,
since their children were diagnosed with lethal fetal anomalies. In
both cases the mothers' lives were not in any danger from their
pregnancy, they were not asking for early induction and their strong
sense that it was wrong caused them to reject the advice given to them
by Father Prieur.

Archbishop Prendergast, who is now the Archbishop in the national
capital of Ottawa, warned clergy specifically against giving such false
advice.

Writing in his December 22, 2002 column in the Register about “adverse
prenatal diagnoses,” such as “Anencephaly and Trisomy 18”, Archbishop
Prendergast noted that, “many parents are pressured to ‘terminate the
pregnancy’ through ‘medical termination’ which is another word for
abortion, either through ‘induced abortion’ or ‘early induction of
labour’.”

“While most Catholics understand and agree with the prohibition against
elective abortions – abortions undertaken because the pregnancy is
unwanted,” said the Archbishop, “many do not realize that a so-called
selective termination of pregnancy or genetic abortion – undertaken
because of the discovery of a fetal anomaly – is also a direct abortion
and so prohibited according to Catholic teaching. This includes
terminations undertaken for fatal conditions such as anencephaly …

“Some Catholics – including clergy,” he said, “seem to treat genetic
terminations as regrettable but permissible, but they are wrong to
teach this.”

Prendergast stressed: “This is a major issue of pastoral concern
because the pressure to abort once an anomaly has been detected is
enormous. It is essential, for the sake of the child and for the
parents, that priests and others, to whom they may turn at such a
terrible time, be clear about Catholic teaching on this point and
supportive of it.” (see a scan of the full article from the Archbishop
here: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009_docs/prendergastarticle…)

Conflicting testimony on the matter from Church authorities can in
these cases cause the death of unborn children.  While the teaching of
the Church on the matter is clear, when described by Fr. Prieur, the
procedure was made to sound more than acceptable.

Describing his thoughts In an interview with LifeSiteNews.com in
December, Fr. Prieur said: "[The babies with a lethal fetal anomaly]
are dying and basically here's what happens, and I've been doing, we've
been doing these for, like I said, for almost twenty years. People who
are pro-life to their fingertips want the baby, get the diagnosis, find
out that the baby is dying, will say, 'Is there any way we can hold
that child while the child dies?' And I've often felt in my heart of
hearts that's a signal from God, that what we're doing is the right
thing. And there's a factor, and this is a technical term in theology –
the instinct of the faith – and it's like, you know, in your heart of
hearts you say, you know that makes sense. This is not your normal
abortion, where we want to get rid of the baby. Not at all. See what I
mean. And here's where we've got Catholic obstetricians here in town
that say, 'Yes, this is the right thing to do.'"

The National Catholic Bioethics Center, which is reviewing the
procedures at St. Joseph’s hospital now, states in their position paper
on early induction of labour: “induction of labor before term performed
simply for the reason that the child has a lethal anomaly is direct
abortion.” (see the full statement here: http://www.ncbcenter.org/04-03-11-EarlyInduction.asp )

See related coverage:

Exclusive: Twenty Years of Eugenic Abortion at Ontario Catholic Hospital
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/dec/08121111.html

Mother "Pressured" to Terminate Pregnancy of Trisomy 18 Child at Catholic Hospital
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/feb/09022507.html

Mother Rejected Advice to Terminate Pregnancy Given by Priest at Centre of 'Early Induction' Scandal
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09031810.html