Fetal Abnormality Case Study

In some ethical and legal respects a pregnant woman and her fetus can be considered separate. Both the woman and the fetus are ordinarily affected by the well-being of one another for as long as each of them live. The ethical and legal issues are challenged deeply in cases where the well-being of the fetus and the mother appear to be in conflict. Our society struggles with identifying cases where the pregnant woman’s interests and/or behaviors might put her fetus at risk. Criminal and/or civil commitments should be used to bar pregnant women from exposing their fetuses to risk.

Jessica 's case is one of the mixed worldview of values on her unborn fetus where her moral compass is influenced by her materialism and spirituality akin to Marco. She follows both the theory that only sentient animals have moral status and the theory that all living organisms have moral status (Sebo, n.d.). According to Wilson (1994), “the fetus is entitled to some degree of moral respect, especially after it has developed for a few weeks”. For instance, Jessica is revealed as wavering between selecting what is erroneous and correct. She anticipates an improved socioeconomic life but similarly trusts that every life is consecrated.

Abortion is a historically controversial practice, igniting intense debate over the legality of the procedure. Opposition to the Supreme Court Decision of Roe v Wade often reference the morality of the issue, however their perspective and understanding is limited. A young mother with a promising future implements a different moral lens than the typical politician. Although there are several moral theories applicable, a utilitarian or Kantian lens is most appropriate. These theories are multifaceted, and while Kantian theory would superficially oppose a termination, both lenses provide moral justification for the abortion.

Before the premises are argued for, the following assumptions must be made. I will follow the same assumptions that Judith Thompson made in her paper. These assumptions are that a fetus is considered a human and that this argument will exclude the extreme circumstances such as rape. Therefore, this paper will focus solely on consensual sex and the morals of abortion following such intercourse, even in the case of dangers to the mothers’ life.

3. What is the difference between a'smart' and a'smart'? **Moral Complexity and Gradual Responsibility:* * To address concerns about the evolving moral landscape of pregnancy, proponents of Thompson's argument recognize the potential for moral responsibilities but argue that these responsibilities are not absolute and unchanging. They might contend that moral considerations can vary at different stages of pregnancy and that the woman's right to make decisions about her body should be weighed against the developing moral

Ask anyone what the number one debated topic in the world is today and you are almost guaranteed to hear “abortion”. It isn’t hard to imagine why this topic would leave such a bitter taste in some people’s mouths. Infants, and moreover children in general, are almost a form of an idol in our culture. The pure and innocent natures of children make the people around them, or at least most of them, fall head over heels in love with them. When someone decides to terminate a pregnancy, not only is it a huge setback to our culture, but our moral and ethical beliefs as well. This issue, unfortunately, is not a one size fits all scenario. Many situations can be considered when talking about the issue of abortion. Throughout this paper, I will be reflecting on the matter of abortion from my own personal perspective in general, in cases of rape, poor quality of life, eminent danger to child and/or mother, and incest.

Indubitably, the topic of abortion has been enveloped with controversy since the 1960s. The divisive topic presents two sides: anti-abortionist and pro-choice. Anti-abortionist believe that it is immoral to abort the fetus. Pro-choice believe that the fetus is not yet a person therefore it is moral to abort the fetus. Nonetheless, Marquis presents an argument that states abortion is immoral; he presents a logical and convincing argument that works to an extent. After scrutinizing Marquis’ argument, it is prevalent that he does not address the wrongness in killing those who are mentally ill or are disabled as they do not have a future like ours. His failure to do so could leads us to the conclusion that it is morally permissible to kill fetuses that show signs of future mental illness or disability.

becoming distinctive, and the mother can now feel the baby's movements. Clearly the fetus has a moral

The medical considerations often rely on moral and ethical issues, but the health care problems that may occur with the woman or fetus should also be brought to discussion. For instance, some women may have mental problems that require administration of specific medications, which impair the fetus and jeopardize its future functioning and health. Another reason for induced abortions, even after the first trimester, may include fetal anomalies. As stated by Bryant, Grimes, Garrett, and

As many researchers suggested, abortion was not only a moral and legal issue, but also essentially a medical issue. Advances in medical sciences pertaining to abortion and child-birth led to new controversies in the abortion debate. For instance, particular advancements made in the case of Down syndrome raised the question that whether selective abortions aided by ultra-sonographic and nuchal translucency in the first trimester violated medical ethics (Khoshnood, 2139). The emerging cases of late-term abortions (also called partial birth abortions) owing to technological advances also also raised questions about the moral base of terminating a life that could possibly survive individually outside the mother’s womb (Miller, 497).

Abortion is always argued with different cases and play a main role in medical ethics (blackwell.,p291).It is evidently reasonable for some to argue that in moral situation, abortion is a murder and it should be illegal, while others may claim that abortion is woman’s right when concerning on autonomy ( The abortion debate in Australia). Opponents of making abortion legal claim that abortion is a kind of murder on extend of moral situation. It is always regarded as a sin to kill a person who is no aggressor in most moral communities (new ethics 1). Fetus is a biologically human as it is not just a part of the mothers, such as a lung or a kidney. On the contrary, it is obvious that fetus is human due to he or she has genetic code of human and human parents as well (abortion myth p5). Moreover, it has potentiality to be a person with primary moral worth (text book p210-211). As Gillion (new ethics) pointed out, every person has his right to life, especially he is not an aggressor. This point is also been pointed by (Rebecca and john,Blackwell p204), “embryos has a right to life” .The fetus is innocent and

One of the most frequently debated topics in bioethics is the morality of abortion, or the ending of a pregnancy without physically giving birth to an infant. Often times abortions are categorized into either spontaneous, a natural miscarriage; induced or intentional, which is premeditated and for any reason; or therapeutic, which albeit intentional, its sole purpose is to save the mother’s life. It seems however that moral conflicts on issue mainly arise when discussing induced abortions. In general, people universally agree it is morally wrong to kill an innocent person and in some people’s eyes induced abortions are the intentional killings of innocent persons, thus making them immoral. However not all individuals view fetuses as persons and consequentially argue it is not morally wrong to kill them.

Maria is absolutely opposed to any mention of termination. She views the moral status of the fetus based on Jessica's responsibility as a mother, or the theory of moral agency based on relationships (GCU, 2015). This theory states that a person must not interfere with another person or must respect their rights because they have a relationship with them (GCU, 2015; Jaworska & Tannenbaum, 2013). For example, the relationship between a parent and their child, or in this case their fetus, provides a particularly strong case for a parent not to kill their child or abort their fetus (Jaworska & Tannenbaum, 2013). Aside from the relationship of Jessica and her fetus which may prevent her from terminating, this theory is also applicable in this case to Marco and Jessica, as he is going to support any decision that she makes based on their relationship. It can also be applied to the physician-patient relationship, so Dr. Wilson must respect Jessica's and Marco's rights as parents and their choice because of their relationship.

The first ethical issue will be right to life and abortion. Abortion remains controversial and a highly debated subject. The ethical debate concerning abortion is the considerations of a woman’s autonomy and the rights of the woman and the unborn child. The parent/ child relationship and assessing the best interests of potential children also provide considerable scope for ethical discussion. (Jones K, Chaloner C 2007). A factor in the ethical future of abortion is the perception of morality, or of actively ending the life of an unborn human being. This process of deductive reasoning explains the most common anti-abortion argument: First, the fetus is an innocent human being. Second, it is morally wrong to kill an innocent human being and lastly, it is morally wrong to kill a fetus. This reasoning can also be applied to support a viewpoint to those who support abortion. First the fetus has no moral status. Secondly, it is not morally wrong to destroy that which has no moral status. Lastly, it is not morally wrong to destroy a fetus.

What a pro-life advocate would argue the fact the embryo can hear, cry, feel fear, feel pain, and have a conscious thought. Realistically, none of these things are remotely accurate when talking about an early stage embryo. According to the Mayo Clinic, “the earliest an unborn child could conceivably hear anything would be sixteen weeks post-fertilization.” In a 2005 article published by the British Medical Journal, the article documents for the first time a fetus cries in the womb. They suggest that “fetal crying is possible at twenty weeks post-fertilization”. The biggest debate is on when embryos can feel pain. Research done by Christopher Bowen, has come to the conclusion that, “It’s my opinion that once the thalamus has been formed, at 10 weeks post-fertilization, this marks the earliest that the fetus has the capability to consciously perceive pain at least on some primal level, and can definitely feel pain by 14 weeks post-fertilization.” By the time the mother finds out she is pregnant, she has plenty of time to decide whether to terminate the pregnancy before the fetus has any conception of pain.