Dr. Rhona Mahony:

We must be pragmatic in an emergency and save the woman's life. If a woman is dying in front of me I will not wait for a second signature; I will save her life because that is my job. With regard to suicide, I do not believe we should dismiss suicide and the potential for a woman to take her life during pregnancy. To do so would be judgmental and would assume women will lie and fabricate suicide ideation, which offends me. It also assumes that psychiatrists in this country are unable to assess suicide ideation, which I believe not be the case. However, I contend that suicide ideation and the real risk that a woman would take her life during pregnancy is extraordinarily rare. It does exist, but it is extremely rare. It must not be confused with general issues surrounding mental health.