Nunna exkommunicerad för att hon ville rädda en moders liv

"Sister Margaret McBride, a Catholic nun and a long time administrator at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, has been excommunicated by her local Phoenix bishop, Thomas J Olmsted, after she agreed with a hospital ethics committee that an 11-week-old fetus had to be aborted in order to save the life of a mother.

Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted stated the Sister of Mercy was "automatically excommunicated" because of the action. She has also been demoted in her job.

The patient concerned had a rare and often fatal condition in which the pregnancy can cause the death of the mother.

In a statement, Suzanne Pfister, a hospital vice president, said while the hospital is a Catholic institution, the directives do not cover all the emergencies that arise.

"In this tragic case, treatment required the termination of an 11-week pregnancy," Pfister said.

The patient's condition, pulmonary hypertension, interferes with the ability of the heart and lungs to function and is often made fatal by pregnancy.

McBride was part of the ethics committee discussion about the surgery, which was described as very urgent and agreed with the abortion to save the life of the mother."

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Jag undrar varför inte också (den sannolikt katolska) sjukhuspersonalen som ingick i den etiska kommittén, samt de personer som utförde aborten, exkommunicerades av den nitiske biskopen...? Kanske för att en nunna är lättare att straffa utan påföljder?

En präst svarar så här.

Läs också den här artikeln om biskopen i fråga.