Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Jan
8
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
“Have You Considered Terminating The Pregnancy?”
“Have you considered terminating the pregnancy?” – OB after taking one look at the mother’s husband who has Albinism.
There are 28 comments to this post.
Goldilocks had this to say,
Jan 8, 2013 @ 5:09 am (Quote)
I really hope this is a matter of bad timing on the doc’s fault and not what it looked like…which really only makes this a touch better.
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Jamie Reply:
January 8th, 2013 at 7:10 am (Quote)
How could assuming that the mother wants an abortion be bad timing or that it’d make anything better?
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Julie Reply:
January 8th, 2013 at 10:05 am (Quote)
Asking if she’s considered an abortion just for the sake of asking (as in going over the “options” of how to deal with a pregnancy) is better that asking if she’s considered an abortion because the father has albinism. Although, the way it was said here wouldn’t fly with me even though I’m 100% pro choice… Asking “do you know what you want to do regarding the pregnancy?” or “how do you feel about this pregnancy?” In order to see if the woman wants information on her options is one thing, but just asking if she’s considered termination is weird.
But I’m rambling. All that to say I think I get what goldilocks was saying…
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Goldilocks Reply:
January 8th, 2013 at 1:37 pm (Quote)
Pretty much what Julie said, I am hoping this was a doc talking about her options as opposed to talking one look at her husband and deciding that given her spouses condition she shouldn’t be making babies.
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Jamie Reply:
January 8th, 2013 at 1:59 pm (Quote)
My bad! I meant how could the OB suggesting an abortion be anything but bad?
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Mama Wrench Reply:
January 8th, 2013 at 3:41 pm (Quote)
Yeah… I mean, I’m pro-life, but I understand the need for open-ended questions for legal purposes (e.g., “Can I discuss any options with you?” or “How do you feel about this pregnancy?”) Asking if she’s considered having an abortion makes it seem like this doctor thinks she has only two options if she suspects her baby isn’t “perfect.”
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I don’t agree with termination for defects during pregnancy for pretty much anything. But, even if I was of a person who thought genetic disorders are a good reason for it, I don’t even understand why Albinism would be a reason to terminate. Sure, it’ll take a little effort of skin care to protect from the sun, and maybe a few other problems, like blindness, but of the reasons people have to terminate their pregnancy, this is a ridiculous one.
Maybe it was bad timing on doc’s fault, but even if it was, asking a mother if she wants to terminate for any reason, if not for this, is really going too far. It should always be the mother’s initiation, and no one else’s.
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Steph in Lex Reply:
January 8th, 2013 at 11:10 am (Quote)
I agree with you on the asking mother if she wants to terminate. Open-ended is the way to go if this is what you’re getting at; asking the question this way makes it sound like this is what the OB thinks you should do.
As someone who’s prochoice for any and every reason that the person making the decision has, I’m still disgusted by the question being asked like this, even in the absence of Dad’s albinism. When that’s factored in, it’s even worse.
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Obviously if the mother married the guy she feels he has worth and value in the world and is not interested in terminating based on the chance (yes it’s still a chance- albinism is recessive) that her baby has the gene… think this through , OB.
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“No but I’m considering punching you in the face. Instead I’ll just fire your ass, file a complaint and find a new doctor. Bye”
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Wait… now albinism is a “horrible” birth defect?
Maybe I observed a pretty lucky group, but of the four people I have known who had it, it seems like its pretty livable. This doctor needs to be informed that eugenics fell out of favor quite sometime ago among the civilized.
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Dear Doctor, If you feel that ethically you must ask every mother if her purpose for the office visit is prenatal care or to seek an abortion then find a better way to put it, but for the record if the woman wants an abortion she will ask for one. You shouldn’t be selectively guessing one way or the other based you your judgment of the patient’s value to society.
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This is mine. The doctor kept calling albinism a disease and wouldn’t even speak directly to my husband.
When I found out I was pregnant with my son I wasn’t too thrilled with my hospital options. Both in the area were horrible. After doing a lot of research I settled on the less appalling one. At my first OB appointment the doctor introduced himself, took one look at my husband who has a genetic condition called Albinism, and immediately asked if I had considered terminating the pregnancy. Startled, we asked him why. He glances at my husband like he’s going to suddenly attack him, then addresses me like my husband isn’t even in the room. ‘Well, your partner has a disease. The fetus could have it.’ My husband immediately says it’s not a disease, it’s a genetic condition. The OB replies with ‘like being retarded…’ We got up and left the room. Never looked back. Found me a midwife that I love. If I ever see that man again I will punch him in the face. Seriously.
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BethanyH Reply:
January 14th, 2013 at 12:08 am (Quote)
Wow. What a jerk. The only good I see out of that is that it made you find a better care provider. If someone had insulted my spouse that way I would want to punch him too. The only person I ever knew with that condition seemed a perfectly normal American woman… unless you knew her parents were Chinese 
definitely never a reason to terminate!
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This is mine. When I found out I was pregnant with my son I wasn’t too thrilled with my hospital options. Both in the area were horrible. After doing a lot of research I settled on the less appalling one. At my first OB appointment the doctor introduced himself, took one look at my husband who has a genetic condition called Albinism, and immediately asked if I had considered terminating the pregnancy. Startled, we asked him why. He glances at my husband like he’s going to suddenly attack him, then addresses me like my husband isn’t even in the room. ‘Well, your partner has a disease. The fetus could have it.’ My husband immediately says it’s not a disease, it’s a genetic condition. The OB replies with ‘like being retarded…’ We got up and left the room. Never looked back. Found me a midwife that I love. If I ever see that man again I will punch him in the face. Seriously.
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When I found out I was pregnant with my son I wasn’t too thrilled with my hospital options. Both in the area were horrible. After doing a lot of research I settled on the less appalling one. At my first OB appointment the doctor introduced himself, took one look at my husband who has a genetic condition called Albinism, and immediately asked if I had considered terminating the pregnancy. Startled, we asked him why. He glances at my husband like he’s going to suddenly attack him, then addresses me like my husband isn’t even in the room. ‘Well, your partner has a disease. The fetus could have it.’ My husband immediately says it’s not a disease, it’s a genetic condition. The OB replies with ‘like being retarded…’ We got up and left the room. Never looked back. Found me a midwife that I love. If I ever see that man again I will punch him in the face. Seriously.
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When I found out I was pregnant with my son I wasn’t too thrilled with my hospital options. Both in the area were horrible. After doing a lot of research I settled on the less appalling one. At my first OB appointment the doctor introduced himself, took one look at my husband who has a genetic condition called Albinism, and immediately asked if I had considered terminating the pregnancy. Startled, we asked him why. He glances at my husband like he’s going to suddenly attack him, then addresses me like my husband isn’t even in the room. ‘Well, your partner has a disease. The fetus could have it.’ My husband immediately says it’s not a disease, it’s a genetic condition. The OB replies with ‘like being (Much less politically correct word for being mentally disabled thay starts with an ‘r’)’ We got up and left the room. Never looked back. Found me a midwife that I love. If I ever see that man again I will punch him in the face. Seriously.
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THIS IS MINE?
For some reason it’s not letting me pink my link.
When I found out I was pregnant with my son I wasn’t too thrilled with my hospital options. Both in the area were horrible. After doing a lot of research I settled on the less appalling one. At my first OB appointment the doctor introduced himself, took one look at my husband who has a genetic condition called Albinism, and immediately asked if I had considered terminating the pregnancy. Startled, we asked him why. He glances at my husband like he’s going to suddenly attack him, then addresses me like my husband isn’t even in the room. ‘Well, your partner has a disease. The fetus could have it.’ My husband immediately says it’s not a disease, it’s a genetic condition. The OB replies with ‘like being retarded…’ We got up and left the room. Never looked back. Found me a midwife that I love. If I ever see that man again I will punch him in the face. Seriously.
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When I found out I was pregnant with my son I wasn’t too thrilled with my hospital options. Both in the area were horrible. After doing a lot of research I settled on the less appalling one. At my first OB appointment the doctor introduced himself, took one look at my husband who has a genetic condition called Albinism, and immediately asked if I had considered terminating the pregnancy. Startled, we asked him why. He glances at my husband like he’s going to suddenly attack him, then addresses me like my husband isn’t even in the room. ‘Well, your partner has a disease. The fetus could have it.’ My husband immediately says it’s not a disease, it’s a genetic condition. The OB then starts comparing it to Down syndrome, which wouldn’t be a reason for us to terminate either, and which has nothing to do with or is even slightly similar to Albinism. We got up and left the room. Never looked back. Found me a midwife that I love. If I ever see that man again I will punch him in the face. Seriously.
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I sway more toward the pro choice side when it comes to abortion, but holy cow, this story is absolutely appalling. Also, when I say pro choice, I mean “choice.” A doctor practically telling a woman she should have one is not a part of choosing. That is a huge jerk, to put it lightly.
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No, but now that I no longer trust you to have my unborn baby’s best interests at heart, I’m terminating our business relationship.
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