Abortion and Ethics in the USA - Assignment Example

Abortion and Ethics Abortions will not let you forget. You remember the children you got that you did not get, The damp small pulps with a little or with no hair, The singers and workers that never handled the air. - Gwendolyn Brooks (1978) The term “later term abortion” refers to the mother’s body undergoing medical procedures to get rid of the baby when it is developed enough to live independently, with proper care, outside of the mother’s womb. Jacobson (2009, para.7) writes in her article that, “About one percent of all abortions performed in the United States occur after 21 weeks. There are different definitions of what constitutes a "late term abortion," but most definitions refer to abortions at or after 24 weeks or in the third trimester.” The U.S. Supreme Court and law severely restrict late term abortions. Conservatism considers it as murder. This paper intends to discuss whether or not it is ethical to perform late term abortions; when does a fetus become a person; and, should late term abortion be considered murder or not. It is important to define the term “viability” here. This term has seen much debate. The 1973 case of Roe v. Wade, that legalized abortions, brought about the legal definition of fetal viability. The Supreme Court, at that time, gave the ruling that a pregnant woman’s health and decision must be given importance over the fetus, until and unless the fetus is viable. Now what is viability? According to the Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California (as cited in Jacobson, 2009, para.11): A fetus is viable when it reaches an "anatomical threshold" when critical organs, such as the lungs and kidneys, can sustain independent life. Until the air sacs are mature enough to permit gases to pass into and out of the bloodstream, which is extremely unlikely until at least 23 weeks gestation (from last menstrual period), a fetus cannot be sustained even with a respirator, which can force air into the lungs but cannot pass gas from the lungs into the bloodstream. Hence, the medical definition of fetal viability makes the fetus viable at approximately 23 weeks, that is, the end of the second trimester or the start of the third trimester. Babies born before the 22 week gestation do not weigh over a pound, and may see complications because their lungs are not properly formed, and the airways are not ready to inhale the air. Such babies may suffer from brain damage, because of lack of circulation of oxygen through respiration. Foer (1997, para.4) writes that, according to many neonatologists, babies are never considered viable before the 22nd week, because before 22 weeks, lungs are not completely formed. There are many more organs that have not been formed well at this stage. However, the Roe v. Wade case outlawed this definition stating that the mother is allowed to get an abortion even if the fetus is viable, given that the mother’s health is in danger. Also, conservatives of the society are against government programs that support abortions, because they want to save the unborn lives (Courtwright, 2010, p.5), and they are also against government programs that provide prenatal care to single mothers. They believe that aborting a viable baby is just like killing of an infant, or snatching life from someone. So, it is a murder. Also, according to conservatives, God did not give any human the right of taking away life from someone. Man does not have the right to decide who is to live and who is to die; hence, late-term abortions should be considered as murder. The debate continues. The most reasonable arguments are arguments about life. Pro-choice people argue that women have the right to abort her unborn child, whether or not she is going through any health complication. On the other hand, pro-life people argue that like all human beings, unborn children also have rights that must be protected. According to them, it is illegal and ethically wrong to abort a child, whether it is viable or not. A matter of common sense is that although a woman does have right over her body, but her body is not hers at this point; rather, it is a matter of two lives. And when the rights of two parties are at conflict, then a balanced decision should be made instead of ignoring one party. If a late term baby is born prematurely, he is treated as a person, and is cared for like all other human beings. So, he is of the same status when he is inside the mother’s body. So, aborting him will be just like killing him. Complications can be sought out at the start of pregnancies. Early pregnancies have babies that have not reached that viable stage that is defined above, and the abortion is easy both for the mother and for the kid. After reaching the viable stage, the abortion seems more like a murder, and it is also dangerous for the mother’s life and safety. Hence, if abortion is mandatory, then it must be done in early stages of pregnancy, and must not be waited till the third trimester. That is the reason late term abortion is also called voluntary abortion. Late term abortions can raise mush more complications for the mother than early stage abortions, according to Tong (2007, p.112). One of the reasons it is so is that, in case of late term abortions, the mother has to be sedated. Sedation is the process that makes it riskier for the doctors to abort the baby without posing any risks to the mother. Hence, it is concluded that late term abortion is ethically wrong, not because it poses dangers to the mother’s body, but is also a sort of voluntary abortion, that takes away the lives of the unborn child. This is also understood as murder since the child becomes viable enough to live on its own. A baby who has reached his viable stage is considered as a person, and thus, aborting him is not ethical, in religious and medical terms. References Brooks, G. (1978). The Mother. USA: State University of New York College at Brockport. Courtwright, D.T. (2010). No Right Turn: Conservative Politics in a Liberal America. USA: Harvard University Press. Foer, F. (1997). Fetal viability. Slate. Retrieved July 14, 2012, from http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/the_gist/1997/05/fetal_viability.html Jacobson, J. (2009). Late-term abortions: facts, stories, and ways to help. RH Reality Check. Retrieved July 14, 2012, from http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2009/06/02/thirdtrimester-abortions-facts-stories-and-how-you-can-help-0 Tong, R. (2007). New Perspectives in Health Care Ethics: An Interdisciplinary and Cross Cultural Approach. USA: Pearson/Prentice Hall. Read More