When Death Is Not the End: Continuing Somatic Care during Postmortem Pregnancy

Abstract

Brain death during the second trimester of pregnancy creates a unique situation in which the mother is deceased, but life of the developing fetus still depends on somatic functions in the mother’s body. In this article, I show that when a pregnant woman becomes brain dead during the second trimester, it is morally licit, though not morally obligatory, to continue somatic support while the fetus develops. The interventions on the mother’s body are justified for the life of the fetus, especially in light of the unique mother–child dyad and the responsibilities the mother has for her child. However, this therapy is not frequently employed, and its success is unpredictable. In many cases, the expense and uncertain nature of the therapy may make it disproportionate. In such cases, somatic support of the mother’s body may be discontinued. Summary: When brain death is diagnosed during pregnancy, it is a challenging decision whether to use artificial ventilation and other heroic measures to support the developing fetus. This paper demonstrates that while these interventions are acceptable, they are not obligatory.