Canuckus Deploracus Loc: North of the wall

This story is creating quite a stir over here in China.... Individuals are weighing in from a number of different viewpoints...

After reading the story, what is your take on the situation...

Were her actions right or wrong?

How would you respond in a similar situation?




Woman dies after controversial birth
原创： 中国日报网 CHINADAILY 昨天

A woman — desperate to give birth despite incurable diseases, which triggered nationwide debate last summer — died on Monday at the age of 43 due to lung infection less than 10 months after delivering a son, eastday.com reported.

Wu Meng, a former news reporter in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan province, was diagnosed with Eisenmenger's syndrome and a rare disease called pulmonary arterial hypertension in 2013, when she ended her first marriage and had a 7-year-old son.

Patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension are advised not to get pregnant.

Later, Wu met her current husband Wang Keding, who had two children from his first marriage. As her disease forbids her to bear children, Wu told Wang that she wouldn't marry him unless she was pregnant.

But at the age of 42, she got pregnant. She considered it God's wish, so the two were married and decided to give birth — even though it could cost her life.

Doctors' dissuasions couldn't change her mind. She even published a video online, saying if she could give birth successfully, it would bring hope to all pulmonary arterial hypertension patients.

She said it was love that made her take the chance, that she didn't want her husband to be lonely in old age, that she didn't want her elder son to shoulder everything alone and she didn't have the heart to give up her fetus.

The decision triggered heated discussion online. Experts said her choice disregarded medical science and set a dangerous precedent for other patients.

On June 16, doctors from different departments at Wuxi People's Hospital successfully delivered a boy under extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support.

The childbirth was a heavy burden on her body. She suffered from cardiopulmonary failure and sudden cardiac arrest. Eleven days later, she went through a cardiac atrial septal defect repair and lung t***splant.

Her surgeon Chen Jingyu said he didn't feel happy after completing the world's first lung t***splant on a postpartum woman with pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Due to professional ethics, the doctors tried their best to save her life and decided to take a chance on a heart and lung operation after childbirth. From his point of view, she took the hospital and doctors hostage in the name of love.

In December, Wu was hospitalized due to infection. Her condition stayed unstable, and her weight dropped to 30 kg. They planned another lung t***splant, but her physical condition had deteriorated too much.

Wu was moved back home on Monday and died that day.

Her husband said that he didn't expect such an ending. "If I knew this would be the result, I wouldn't have let her give birth," he said.

Chen explained her cause of death on his Sina Weibo on Tuesday. He said Wu was an extremely confident woman. She didn't follow doctor's advice and refused to take anti-infection medicine after a lung t***splant, which resulted in another lung infection.

ACP45 Loc: Rhode Island

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Wow, quite an interesting saga here CD.

Ordinarily, I would say that her decision to give birth knowing the medical consequences based upon her condition was her choice to make.

However, there is another important piece of this puzzle to consider. I don't know how the medical system in China operates (presumably socialized medicine), but it sounds like her doctors (and hospital) spend an inordinate amount of time, money and organs that would otherwise have been employed to save the life of other individuals. Was this a selfish decision on her part, knowing the consequences of her action and the medical consequences on the rest of society? Why did she not follow the advice of her doctor and take the anti-infection medicine knowing the high risk of infection and tissue rejection from the lung t***splant?

I can see where this has sparked such controversy. All I can say in this regard is that I would not have made the decisions that she made.

Canuckus Deploracus Loc: North of the wall

She has also left behind a husband, an eight year old son, and a new born child...

Chinese healthcare is heavily subsidized by the government... But she still would have had to pay... Most of the bills would cone after the procedures... She may have left ger family in debt as well... Many over here are speculating on it...

Others are critical of her not taking precautions to protect herself from pregnancy...

It is a fascinating debate...

maximus Loc: Chattanooga, Tennessee

Hey1 Kyle,
Haven't seen you in a while. Wow! This story hits in so many places. She DID have children successfully, so she had reason to hope for the same to happen again. She had every right to abort but chose not to. She obviously loved the life she carried in her.
I find it to be strange that living in China, a c*******t country, that she had so much freedom to choose as she saw fit. She may have had equal or even more freedom than we do here in America.
In the end of things for her, she was given the dignity to choose her own path as any human being should able to do. A hundred years ago, the scenario would have had the same outcome due to lack of medical expertise. I would have found no fault in her for getting the a******n, but I respect he decision to save the life of her child.
John 15:13 13Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Hope all is well, Kyle.
Your friend, David

ACP45 Loc: Rhode Island

Here's the part that get me:
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"Wu told Wang that she wouldn't marry him unless she was pregnant.

But at the age of 42, she got pregnant. She considered it God's wish, so the two were married and decided to give birth — even though it could cost her life."
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I don't understand the part where she wouldn't marry him UNLESS she got pregnant. To me this sounds like the two of them (each for their own reason) wanted her to get pregnant.

Was that a responsible decision on each of their parts? I could understand Wang's desire for the pregnancy if he wanted to marry Wu, and that was the only way Wu would consent to the marriage. But with all the options for birth control available today, there is little reason for the pregnancy to begin with, let alone having to make a decision on an a******n to save the life of the mother. Maybe I'm reading something into this situation, but it sure sounds like the pregnancy was the desired outcome from the beginning.

Canuckus Deploracus Loc: North of the wall

Hi friend David....

You are correct... It has been a while... Did you receive my PM? I started wondering because a number of individuals from that week didn't get the PMs I sent... Odd...

China could better be described as having a C*******t government The country itself is pretty capitalistic... Took me a while to get used to....

I agree that she would have been in her right to abort the child.. She made an amazing sacrifice... Though it seems almost selfish considering those she left behind...

Include her in our prayers and hope that the Father welcomes her into His arms...Amen...

How have you been?
It's finally warming up here.. .
Time for some tennis

Your friend, Kyle

Canuckus Deploracus Loc: North of the wall

Most probably this was due to children of unmarried parents being denied certain rights and privileges in China...

It is a common occurance to marry because of "a bun in the oven"... I know more than a few couples who wound up together this way...

As she was divorced with a child she would be due child support... But not if she were to remarry... Different sort of rule, no?

You can see why there is so much debate and controversy on the story...

Larry the Legend Loc: Not hiding in Milton

How do you keep a straight face?

Canuckus Deploracus Loc: North of the wall

Pronounced Wong (like song) Ke (hard k sound) Ding (like sing)...

But thanks for the chuckle

maryjane

I agree with the critics of her taking precautions to prevent pregnancy. If she did not already have a child, I might feel differently, but she did have a child and her second husband had children, so neither of them were childless and longing for a child. I also question the real motives of a woman knowing she will not live to raise another child, and knowing the great dangers of pregnancy to both herself and the fetus, but choosing to get pregnant and give birth anyway.

Canuckus Deploracus Loc: North of the wall

I am in agreement.... Now there are groups claiming it was due to her religion (unknown, but she did mention God in the article)..

The debates on the forums over here are quite interesting.... Could clean up the language a bit.. I prefer the OPP