Walsh J L, McQueen M M
Faculty of Theology, University of St. Michael's College, Toronto.
Kennedy Inst Ethics J. 1993 Dec;3(4):357-69. doi: 10.1353/ken.0.0087.
In situations where anencephaly is diagnosed and where the mother's life or health is threatened Roman Catholic hospitals are faced with the dilemma of waiting until viability before inducing the fetus, thus potentially putting the mother at further risk. According to most Roman Catholic ethicists, induced delivery before viability is contrary to the Church's prohibition of direct killing of the innocent. The authors propose for discussion a reconsideration of this position in the case of the anencephalic fetus and conclude that taking the life of such a fetus does not constitute an attack on its personal dignity and therefore is morally permissible.
在诊断出无脑儿且母亲的生命或健康受到威胁的情况下，罗马天主教医院面临着两难境地：要等到胎儿具有存活性才引产，这可能会使母亲面临更大风险。根据大多数罗马天主教伦理学家的观点，在胎儿具有存活性之前进行引产违背了教会禁止直接杀害无辜者的教义。作者提议就无脑儿情况下对这一立场的重新考量进行讨论，并得出结论：夺走这样一个胎儿的生命并不构成对其人格尊严的侵犯，因此在道德上是允许的。
