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World's oldest mom dying after giving birth at 70

Pregnancy procedure raises severe ethical questions

Indian mother, 72-year-old Rajo Devi Lohan is dying after giving birth to her only child -- less than two years ago, at the age of 70. Rajo and her husband took out loans for a costly IVF pregnancy treatment. Too weak to recover from her pregnancy, Rajo can't lift her 18-month-old child. Rajo's dilemma has raised serious moral questions.

Indian mother, 72-year-old Rajo Devi Lohan is dying after giving birth to her only child -- less than two years ago, at the age of 70. Here, she is seen with her husband and child.

Indian mother, 72-year-old Rajo Devi Lohan is dying after giving birth to her only child -- less than two years ago, at the age of 70. Here, she is seen with her husband and child.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Psychiatrist Dr. Keith Ablow told Fox News that technology could be partly to blame for this controversial question of ethics.

"This is crossing the boundary into the inevitable results of when people use technology without guidance or conscience. And the trouble is that even reprehensible people can do so," Ablow says.

After her Cesarean birth, Rajo's womb ruptured and she suffered severe internal bleeding. She and her husband say they did not know it was high risk to have a baby at their age, and were never warned of any complications by their doctor.

The doctor who performed the procedure says that her medical state has nothing to do with his care or her pregnancy so late in life.

"Even though Rajo's health is deteriorating, at least she will die in peace. She does not have to face the stigma of being barren," the doctor said in a newspaper report.

Ablow says the doctor in question should be stopped from making medical decisions.

"This is not a doctor; this person should not be regarded as a doctor and stripped of any credentials regarding him as medical professional. He is a co-conspirator in a medical experiment," Ablow says.

The National Fertility Centre in Haryana, where Rajo received her treatments, was criticized for helping another Indian woman give birth to triplets when the mother was 66. The center claims no wrongdoing in the pregnancies of both women.

A chief concern is the soundness of mind at the advanced ages of these women, as well as their ability to rationally think through their feelings of wanting to be a mother.

"If this doctor doesn't have convincing data on hand that these women are competent to make medical decisions, then him impregnating them artificially should be viewed as an assault and treated criminally," Ablow says.

Of course, this does not even begin to consider the underlying moral issues present in any use of  IVF;  the intentional death of discarded or "spare" embryonic lives which always occurs in the process.


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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention:
The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

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1 - 2 of 2 Comments

  1. Naz
    2 years ago

    Okay before everyone starts judging this poor woman. I think we should put it in perspective. Many Indian women due to religious beliefs believe that they will NOT enter Heaven or whatever the religious equivalent, if they do not bare a child. In Indian and African cultures as well, being barren is more of a social stigma than it is in the West. These cultures insist that the highest level of being for a woman is to be a mother. Westerners have started to believe the opposite. Both are damaging ideologies because it encourages social stigma and pits women against each other. People forget that no one has a "right" to have a child, but motherhood is also a calling. Not all are called to it. Many are called to adopt.

  2. vsedriver
    2 years ago

    a woman too stupid to know that having a baby at 70 would be life threatening is too stupid to have a baby at all.

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