What is Viability?

Radio Lab recently ran a story about a child that was born at 23 weeks and 6 days about halfway through a typical pregnancy.  Although this program isn’t explicitly about the abortion debate in the United States, I have included it because I believes it has implications in the debate. Here is a description of the story: 

When Kelley Benham and her husband Tom French finally got pregnant, after many attempts and a good deal of technological help, everything was perfect. Until it wasn’t. Their story raises questions that, until recently, no parent had to face… and that are still nearly impossible to answer.

 

This hour, we spend the entire episode on the story of Kelley and Tom, whose daughter was born at 23 weeks and 6 days, roughly halfway to full term. Their story contains an entire universe of questions about the lines between life and death, reflex and will, and the confusing tug of war between two basic moral touchstones: doing no harm…and doing everything in our power to help. Kelley has written about her experience in a brilliant series of articles in the Tampa Bay Times.