Ethics of Abortion

Introduction:
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

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.

rape

Reasons given for

abortions

incest
mother

has health problems

possible fetal health problems
unready
is too immature or young to have child
woman's parents want her to have abortion
has problems with relationship or wants to avoid single
parenthood
husband or partner wants her to have abortion
has all the children she wanted or all children are grown
can't afford baby now
unmarried
student or planning to study

can't

afford baby and child care

can't afford basic life needs
unemployed
can't leave job to care for baby
would have to find new place to live
not enough support from husband/partner
husband/partner unemployed
currently on welfare or public assistance
concerned about how having baby would change her life
would interfere with education plans
would interfere with career plans
would interfere with care of children or dependents
doesn't want others to know she had relations or is
pregnant

Mary Warren, On the Moral and

Legal Status of Abortion, 1973

Warren considers the following

anti-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

Fetus

Much

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 yet

Types of Abortion

Surgical
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 510% 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:

THE END.