Distorted values

Dr. Kenneth C. Edelin, the first black to serve as a chief resident at the Boston City Hospital, has become the pawn of the anti-abortion forces. He is now on trial for manslaughter in Suffolk Superior Court.

Dr. Edelin is suffering the agony of criminal prosecution because he performed an abortion in the usual course of business. He is the chief resident in obstetrics and gynecology.

A bizarre turn of events transformed an ordinary abortion into a cause celebre. Apparently, tissue from the deceased fetus was used in medical research, and the results of the study were published in a medical journal. The article was brought to the attention of local politicians, who were aroused over the thought of medical research being performed on dead fetuses.

In the ensuing investigation, the age of the fetus at the time of the abortion became an issue. In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that state laws are invalid which outlaw abortion prior to the “viability’ of the fetus, that is the ability of the fetus.to live independent of the mother.

The Court did not specify an exact age for viability, but stated “viability is usually placed at about seven months (28 weeks) but may occur earlier, even at 24 weeks.”

The term of the fetus is a matter of medical opinion, and there is considerable disagreement on the fetus aborted by Edelin. Reportedly, Edelin’s superior estimated the fetus’ age to be 20 weeks, Edelin’s own estimate, after the operation was 24 weeks, and the pathology department’s estimate was 22 weeks. The three, independent, medical opinions would average 22 weeks. That is less than the minimum age for a viable fetus as established by the Court.

If the evidence does establish an age of 22 weeks, then Edelin’s contention that the fetus was born dead will be established. He would have to be found innocent of manslaughter.

Now Edelin finds himself as the guinea pig in the battle between physicians who perform abortions and fetal research and the staunch opponents of abortion at any time under any circumstances. The Edelin trial will add to the political stature of those identified with the prosecution, but nothing can really be gained. The burden will weigh very heavily upon the prosecutor to prove the viability of a fetus, less than seven months old (28 weeks), the term which the Court defined as that usually necessary for a fetus to live independently.

It is ironic that many of those who anguish over the fate of a still-born fetus would viciously deny black children access to all Boston schools.