(User discretion advised due to snap of macerated baby)
KB, a 40 year old came to us at around Saturday midnight with a history of term pregnancy, labour pains and loss of fetal movements since one day. Since, Titus, who was on duty, did not get a fetal heart sound, he did an ultrasound which showed a dead baby in a transverse lie.
He did per vaginal examination was surprised to find a 70 cm long rubber tube coiled inside the uterus.
There was no fetal pole palpable through the vaginal orifice and there was a foul smell.
He called me telling about the rubber tube. I felt that something was amiss.
Considering that KB was in labour for more than 1 day, I did not think it as wise to try a internal podalic version which we regularly do. One of our doctors, Dr Shishir is quite an expert in doing it.
I posted her for a Cesarian section.
I was surprised to find out that the uterus looked very much preterm. It looked quite unhealthy too. I was glad that I did not go for the IPV.
As soon as the uterus was opened, stench of decomposed flesh filled the room. The baby was badly macerated and was at least 3 days dead. The baby was female. . .
 |
| The dead baby and the orange colored rubber tube which we found inside the uterus. . . |
It was not complicated to piece the events together. Someone had helped the family diagnose a female baby. And they had tried to abort it.
Considering the patient's age, I asked if we could do a tubectomy on her. The family was outright against the suggestion . . . The husband told me that they needed to have a boy. . .
I wonder if she had been aborting like this for sometime since the delivery of her previous 3 daughters the youngest of whom was about 15 years old. . .
I informed the civil surgeon's office and the police.
The civil surgeon had informed the press and they were all over the place by Sunday afternoon.
It is sad. Girl babies are not wanted . . . And they are killed ruthlessly. But, it is not only girl babies who are killed. Kindly read a very good article against abortions of any type. . .
The occasions when we've witnessed clear instances of prejudices against the girl child are umpteen. . . And I'm sure that the cold blooded murder which came to light is only the tip of the iceberg . . .
It is a shocking, outrageous case. However, I disagree with regarding "abortions of any type" as murder. If a patient needs a blood transfusion from you and dies of blood loss, you are NOT a murderer because of not having donated blood. If a fetus needs uterine environment and the mother refuses it, the mother and the abortion doctor are NOT murderers, just humans exercising their free will. The "abortion is murder" thesis only leads to "murder is no worse than abortion" logic by parents of unwanted children and, hence, to the death of children like Caylee Anthony, Amir Jennings and the girl in your post. I think the solution to female feticide problem is elevating the status of women in society, not bringing it further down by forcing the woman to deliver any fetus she has conceived. A female cannot be regarded both as a valuable human being and as an incubator and caretaker of unwanted children.
ReplyDelete@Maya, either unborn children have a right to life and we have a responsibility in how we conceive them, or they are no better than blobs of tissue to be disposed of whenever we feel like it. You have to choose: either the unborn are human beings or they are not. The only other alternative is to claim that murder of innocents is acceptable. If we take your logic, that a woman and her doctor are free to deny quarter to a fetus because of their free will, then you really have no ground on which to object to this heinous crime. The mother and father were simply denying the female fetus quarter because she was an unwanted "tenant" in the uterus. they would have rather filled the "vacancy" with a boy. Who are you to criticize them if they're only exercising their free will as people?
DeleteIf, on the other hand, you recognize that this is actually a horrific, murderous act, then you have to admit that a life was wrongfully taken in the first place. We believe this is evil because we unconsciously recognize that this is no better than a parent leaving their child out in the woods to starve. If a woman can refuse the uterine environment a child needs to survive and not be considered a murder if she has to kill the child to remove it, then why can't parents refuse a home environment to a child and not be considered murders when that child dies of exposure? You will never have universal dignity for everyone, including women, until you recognize the dignity of the weakest and most vulnerable among us.
This is simply unacceptable. But, unfortunately, our medical fraternity, either due to their deep seated greed, or under threat or under sympathy, are involved in such malpractices. Would you believe that this practice (Pre-natal sex determination) is still prevalant in India, even after getting banned by law, and there are hundreds of medical service providers (clinics, hospitals, etc) who offer these services, even in metros like Delhi. I've had a personal experience, when one of our relatives during her visit for regular checkup in a govt. hospital was offered to get the unborn's sex determined for money. But, since, the elderly were not against a baby girl, the baby girl had no danger. I don't know how many baby girls have a good luck?
ReplyDelete