[TINY TIM]

It was a relatively calm day in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). Occasionally an alarm would go off, and one of us would attend to the needs of a tiny patient.
I was in mid-sentence when a shrill ring of the phone halted all conversation. It was the red phone, and i was leaning against it. The red phone was the emergency line between us and the labour and delivery room - very unobtrusive, unless it rings.
I fought the desire to walk away and let someone lese answer it. I picked up the receiver. "Come fast," the voice said urgently. "We need a neonatal nurse stat!"
The other nurses looked at me and said, "You're on. We'll watch your patients here and set up another admission."
Fear gripped my heart as I ran through the back entrance towards the delivery room. The labour and delivery nurses were ready when i arrived. Holding gown, gloves and mask, they helped me into uniform and almost pushed me into the delivery room. When i didn't even get to 'scrub in,' I knew the situation was critical.
I made eye contact with the circulating nurse and asked, "What's happening here?"
She responded with little emotion. "It's an OOPS abortion, and now, well, it's your problem!"
I looked into the bed of the warmer as I grabbed equipment. Before my eyes was a baby boy. A very, very tiny baby boy. The doctor and I immediately made an attempt at intubation. This procedure was unsuccessful and put the baby in great trauma.
I glanced at the doctor and hesitantly asked, "Will you attempt intubation again?"
"You've got to be kidding," he replied. "It would be inhumane to attempt intubation to this poor little thing again. This infant will never survive."
"No, Doctor, I’m not kidding," I said, "and it's my job to ask."
The doctor softened for a moment. "I'm sorry, Sharon. I'm just angry. The mother doesn't want the inconvenience of a baby, so she can pay someone to get rid of it - all neat and tidy. Then the whole thing gets screwed up when the foetus has the audacity to survive." His words tumbled out. "Then everybody takes it seriously and called the paediatrician, who's suppose to fix it or get rid of it. Then it's all on my shoulders, including the liability of this new unwanted little person!"
With anger in his voice, he went on. "The lawyers will fight for the right to do whatever we want to, to our bodies, but watch out for what they will do when these abortions aren't so neat and tidy! A failed 'homicide'! Then all of a sudden everybody cares, and it's turned from a 'right' into a 'liability' that someone gets the blame for."
As the doctor's emotion surged, he continued. "It's the last guy with his hands on this 'pro-choice entity' who now gets to be responsible for the OOPS." With sarcasm in his voice, he said, "Well, Sharon, today that's you and me. We're the lucky shift, and I answered my phone and you answered your phone. Lucky us, huh?"
I spoke quietly. "This is pretty upsetting, isn't it?"