Australian Woman Aborts One Unborn Twin

Melbourne, Australia - A pregnant woman has aborted one of her unborn twins because she feared she could not cope with raising both children, a medical expert said yesterday.

The woman, who already has another child, became pregnant with the twins using IVF. She had wanted just one more baby, but both frozen embryos implanted by doctors were successful.

Monash IVF medical director Professor Gab Kovacs said the Melbourne woman, due to give birth soon, was fine medically.

"But she decided she couldn't cope. She was under psychological stress," he said."She had a lot of counselling and saw doctors and decided to reduce them to one."

Details of the case emerged as a visiting US expert suggested all parents of twins should consider aborting one. Professor Mark Evans told a fertility congress in Melbourne the "half abortions" were the way of the future.

The abortion procedure is not uncommon in Australia, with a doctor estimating about 12 women a year in Victoria alone abort one twin.

In South Australia, the abortion procedure is believed to be rare, with an obstetrician from the Women's and Children's Hospital saying he had never heard of such a case being performed on maternal request.

Professor Evans claimed the abortion procedure reduced the risk of prematurity and complications at birth."Sometimes you have to do very unpleasant things in order to get a good outcome," he said.

Ethicists and pro-life groups labelled the abortion decision "cruel".

Right to Life president Margaret Tighe said she did not know how a mother could choose which twin to abort."Imagine if the surviving twin ever gets to hear of it. How will they feel knowing they were the lucky one to survive?" she said.

Pro-Life Infonet
28. november 2001