Ethics of Abortion

Ethics of AbortionIntroduction:Abortion is the most difficult and controversial moral issues we will consider. Abortion = deliberate removal (or deliberate action to cause the expulsion) of a fetus from the womb of a human female, at the request of or through the agency of the mother, so as in fact to result in the death of the fetus.Abortion Preparation(History)Most abortions are performed after your health care professional takes a brief and targeted medical history. You will be asked questions about prior pregnancies and any treatment or care during the current pregnancy. You will be asked about any diseases or conditions that affect your reproductive organs, such as sexually transmitted infections.

The health care professional will ask whether you have a history of diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, anemia, bleeding disorders, or surgery (on your ovaries or uterus, for example). If you have active medical problems, you may need to be stabilized before an abortion or have the procedure performed in a facility that can handle special medical problems.

If there are known problems with the fetus, such as severe brain abnormalities that will either not allow the fetus to live, and if these problems are known through diagnostic testing, the woman may choose to end the pregnancy with abortion.The most common problems with the fetus encountered in abortion counseling include major system development failures and problems that cannot be repaired dealing with the heart, nervous system, spine, brain, abdomen, kidneys, and breathing and digestive systems.

Physical

A brief physical examination is usually performed before an abortion. The focus is on determining when your pregnancy began and checking for sexually transmitted disease and whether you are healthy enough to undergo the procedure.

Lab tests

Pregnancy tests are used to confirm that you are pregnant. Home tests are reliable, so providers will accept these results in some cases. Blood will be tested for sexually transmitted diseases and for hepatitis. Urine may be checked to see if you have a urinary tract infection.

Imaging studies

An ultrasound is virtually always dome for pregnancy confirmation and dating. Doctors are looking for how many fetuses may be developing, the size of the fetus or fetuses, a picture of the uterus and ovaries, and to rule out a problem such as an ectopic pregnancy (a life-threatening condition in which the fetus develops outside the uterus).

Medications

Your health care professional may give you antibiotics as a precaution against infection. Antibiotic use for the procedure is usually given the day of the procedure and for the next day or two.

Reasons given for abortions rapeincestmother has health problemspossible fetal health problemsunreadyis too immature or young to have childwoman's parents want her to have abortionhas problems with relationship or wants to avoid single parenthoodhusband or partner wants her to have abortionhas all the children she wanted or all children are growncan't afford baby nowunmarriedstudent or planning to study

can't afford baby and child carecan't afford basic life needsunemployedcan't leave job to care for babywould have to find new place to livenot enough support from husband/partnerhusband/partner unemployedcurrently on welfare or public assistanceconcerned about how having baby would change her lifewould interfere with education planswould interfere with career planswould interfere with care of children or dependentsdoesn't want others to know she had relations or is pregnantMary Warren, On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion, 1973

Warren considers the followinganti-abortion argument:1) It is wrong to kill innocent human beings.2) Fetuses are innocent human beings.3) Therefore, it is wrong to kill fetuses.

The Moral Status of the FetusMuch of the debate in regard to abortion has centered around the first premise, namely, whether the fetus is a person or not.If the fetus is a person, then it has the rights that belong to persons, including the right to life. The concept of personhood, in other words, is the bridge that connects the fetus with the right to life.

Warrens list of characteristics (not an argument!):1.Consciousness (of objects and events external and/or internal to the being), and in particular the capacity to feel pain;

2.Reasoning (the developed capacity to solve new and relatively complex problems);

3.Self-motivated activity (activity which is relatively independent of genetic or direct external control).

4.The capacity to communicate, messages of with an indefinite number of possible contents on indefinitely many possible topics.

5.The presence of self-concepts and self-awareness.

Why Abortion is Immoral?Abortion Is Immoral To come to the conclusion that abortion is immoral, a woman must first understand what abortions are and why women choose to have them. Pro-life supporters say that abortion equals the murder of a human life, before it's even allowed to live.

Since abortion is immoral, the stigma attached to the character of the woman for the rest of her life by pro-lifers and Christians alike, isn't a realistic way for a woman to deal with the complexities and fears of an unwanted pregnancy. Public and private funding for comprehensive programs that emphasize celibacy and teen pregnancy prevention must be increased dramatically. Abortion is murder and should be taught as such with unbiased evaluation and replication of effective programs that include proven strategies, such as life planning skills, self-esteem workshops, and mentoring by older peers must be conducted. The church should be taking an active role in promoting these programs in and out of the public sector. Adjusting the programs to state biological reasons why this act is considered murder, and facilitating programs in modern day ethics that prove it's immoral will be a way to reach those that oppose any organized religion or Christianity in particular. Christians need to be careful not to just "preach to the choir", but should be out in the secular world using wisdom and God given understanding to influence men and women to follow God's will for their lives, which includes the understanding that abortion is immoral and unethical in a variety of ways, even if they are not sure about God yetTypes of AbortionSurgical

Home pregnancy tests available at a drug store can indicate pregnancy early after conception. Terminations performed in this very early time frame have sometimes been termed menstrual extractions.

Abortions performed prior to nine weeks from the last menstrual period (seven weeks from conception) are performed either surgically (a procedure) or medically (with drugs).From nine weeks until 14 weeks, an abortion is performed by a dilatation and suction curettage procedure.After 14 weeks, surgical abortions are performed by a dilatation and evacuation procedure.After 20 weeks of gestation, abortions can be performed by labor induction, prostaglandin labor induction, saline infusion, hysterotomy, or dilatation and extraction.Most abortions are performed in an outpatient office setting (doctor's office, ambulatory clinic) under local anesthesia with or without sedation.

Medical

Medical abortion is a term applied to an abortion brought about by medication taken to induce it. This can be accomplished with a variety of medications given either as a single pill or a series of pills. Medical abortion has a success rate that ranges from 75-95%, with about 2-4% of failed abortions requiring surgical abortion and about 5-10% of incomplete abortions (not all tissue is expelled and it must be taken out by surgery), depending on the stage of gestation and the medical products used.

Women who select a medical abortion express a slightly greater satisfaction with their route of abortion and, in the majority of cases, express a wish to choose this method again should they have another abortion. Research needs to be performed to more clearly establish which method is best, which medications are preferable, and how successfully women and adolescents can diagnose a complete versus an incomplete abortion.

Medical abortions can provide some measure of safety in that they eliminate the risk of injury to a woman's cervix or uterus from surgical instruments. Some women require an emergency surgical abortion, and, for safety concerns, women undergoing medical abortions need access to providers willing to perform a surgical abortion should it be necessary.

Side Effects of Medical Abortion:

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