Update: the original post named the wrong candidate -thank you to those who pointed it out! I hate it when i do this!
Joe Walsh
Joe Walsh is a GOP candidate for congress, says there is no such thing as a valid need for "abortion to save the life of the mother". there has been speculation as to what this means, and various people have looked for medical info about infection, hemorrhage, maternal death statistics, etc.
As a public service, here is info as to a very specific medical illness that fits this description. Any Labor and Delivery Nurse should be able to back me up on this. it is unusual, but not so rare that nobody has ever heard of it.
My heart goes out to any woman who has suffered this. the description below the fold may be a bit too graphic for some or contain triggers. I apologize.
disclaimer:
I am not an MD, I am an RN. I have previously taught maternity nursing (which is unusual because I am a guy; in fact I the first male RN who ever taught maternity nursing in the history of the State of Maine (whichwill go on my obit someday).
There is an illness named "Gestational Trophoblastic Disease" (GTD) that happens about one-in-a-thousand pregnancies. Gestational Trophoblastic Disease"
There are ample sites vailable via Google Search on this, try
Molar pregnancy which leads to mayo Clinic info
or
blighted pregnancy which may or may not be the same thing, but is similar. This term was used by another poster describing her own tragic experience; I think most medical people dislike the term because it gives a subliminal message to the woman who experiences GTD to develop self-loathing as if her own body is unclean somehow ( and she is not - this is simply a medical event that should be nonjudgemental).
If GTD is not treated, the woman can develop a fatal form of cancer. fatal as in "death."
its treatable but the first step is an abortion. sometimes the GTD materials have parts that resemble fetal parts in a grotesque way, i am told.
bottom line is, the victim of GTS starts out with a happy "pregnancy" and is faced with the shock of realizing that there is no fetus and that she may die. This is not a situation that should be handled by anybody but the woman and her doctor and a support system of loving family and friends.