Ethical Issue Paper: Informed Consent & Abortion
Informed consent is an important matter in helping professions. It allows for the professional (doctor, therapist, teacher, etc.) to share pertinent information with a patient or client, and give them the opportunity to make educated decisions on behalf of their life and health. Its overall goal is to keep things in an open perspective for the client and let them see all sides, good and bad. In regards to abortion procedures, informed consent has become a debated issue. Be it in the form of educational requirements or parental consent for minors, ethics play a role in determining what the right steps are in this area.
The topic of abortion has been a controversial one for many years, and is continuously disputed in governmental proceedings. Policies related to abortion are presented and handled with care, because of the moral and ethical issues that often times surrounds the procedure. To gain a deeper understanding of the serious issue of abortion, it is important to know what abortion procedures consists of. Abortion is defined as “the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus. It can be classified in: spontaneous expulsion of a human fetus during the first 12 weeks of gestation, or an induced expulsion of a human fetus” (Abortion, n.d.). In most controversial cases of abortion it is usually an intentional termination, or induced abortion.
Induced abortions are usually performed because of an unwanted or unintended pregnancy. Some reasoning behind receiving an abortion could be a family that cannot care for a child financially, or stigma due to age of the woman expecting (i.e., teenage mothers). An induc...
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Works Cited Warren, Mary Anne. On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion. Trans. Array Exploring Ethics: An Introductory Anthology. . 2 nd.
Haugen, David, Susan Musser, and Kacy Lovelace, . Abortion. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2010.
How can a child make the decision for the life of another child by themselves? In this paper I will outline the mental, physical, and safety issues of minors (age 18 and under) having an abortion and why it is so important that they need to get parental consent before making this life long decision.
In a 2006 study conducted by the CDC, it was reported that 53-56% of abortions were performed on white women between the ages of 20 and 29. Among the 46 states that provided data consistently during 1996--2006, a total of 835,134 abortions (98.7% of the total) were reported; the abortion rate was 16.1 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15--44 years, and the abortion ratio was 236 abortions per 1,000 live births. During the previous decade (1997--2006), reported abortion numbers, rates, and ratios decreased 5.7%, 8.8%, and 14.8%, respectively; most of these declines occurred before 2001. During the previous year (2005--2006), the total number of abortions increased 3.1%, and the abortion rate increased 3.2%; the abortion ratio was stable. (CDC, 2009)
The most common conflicts that cause a woman to get an abortion are based on their own personal responsibilities. Sixteen percent of women, who get abortions, believe that their life would be changed too much to acquire a child. Twenty-one percent of expectant mothers feel that they are not ready for the responsibility to care for an adolescent. Few as twelve percent have complications with relationships or are unmarried. One perecent have been raped and/or incested. Twenty-one percent have financial disputes. Eight percent currently bare children and have all they wish for. Three percent have discovered that the baby in the womb has health issues. Four perecent of the abortions are other reasons. Lastly, the abortion pill used to minimize the fetus, does not work, therefore the woman receives an
“Teenage Abortion and Pregnancy Statistics by State,1992.” Guttmacher Institute. N.p., 1996-2010. Web. 18 Mar. 2010. .
Abortion is a voluminous topic today all around the world. Differing viewpoints on abortion are recognized in politics, religion, and throughout the general population. There is a small amount of people who are nonchalant on the subject. Women have abortions for many different reasons and according to certain groups these reasons are either justified or not. Everyone tends to have their own articulated opinion, and many vocalize tenaciously what they believe. Pro-life individuals along with religion are sanguine that abortion is ethically and morally erroneous. Whereas those who are pro-choice say that abortion is inconsequential and the mother’s choice is more important than the fetus. Reasons to not get an abortion include risks involved in receiving an abortion. In some cases death can occur. However, there are other alternatives to abortion. For example, raising the child and adoption.
There are many factors that are taken into consideration when determining if abortion is morally permissible, or wrong including; sentience of the fetus, the fetuses right to life, the difference between adult human beings and fetuses, the autonomy of the pregnant woman, and the legality of abortion. Don Marquis argues that abortion is always morally wrong, excluding cases in which the woman is threatened by pregnancy, or abortion after rape, because fetuses have a valuable future. Mary Anne Warren contends that late term abortions are morally permissible because birth is the most significant event for a fetus, and a woman’s autonomy should never be suspended.
Second, to ensure that parental rights are enforced; minors should need parental consent to obtain an abortion (Earll). Parents are legally responsible for the well-being of their children. They are responsible for giving th...
Hinman, Lawrence. “Abortion: A Guide to the Ethical Issues.” May 13, 2010. University of San
With so many women choosing to have abortions, it would be expected that it would not be so greatly frowned up, yet society is still having problems with its acceptance. Every woman has the fundamental right to decide for herself, free from government interference, whether or not to have an abortion. Today, more than ever, American families do not want the government to trample on their right to privacy by mandating how they must decide on the most intimate, personal matters. That is why, even though Americans may differ on what circumstances for terminating a crisis pregnancy are consistent with their own personal moral views, on the fundamental question of who should make this personal decision, the majority of Americans agree that each woman must have the right to make this private choice for herself. Anti-choice proposals to ban abortions for “sex-selection” or “birth-control” are smokescreens designed to shift the focus of the debate away from this issue and trivialize the seriousness with which millions of women make this highly personal decision. Any government restriction on the reasons for which women may obtain legal abortions violates the core of this right and could force all women to publicly justify their reasons for seeking abortion.
Warren, Mary Anne , and Mappes and D. DeGrazia. "On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion." Biomedical Ethics 4th (1996): 434-440. Print.
The same laws allow the teenagers to have an abortion but require parental notification or consent before carrying out the procedure. These laws prove biased as they favor one resolution over the other, as they force some to bear babies they do not want by restricting their options. Ethical Issues Abortion may appear ethical or unethical depending on various viewpoints and circumstances. The fetus is considered a person and bringing it to term may be unethical as the act is considered murder. In some situations, the mother may be required to terminate a pregnancy for her bodily autonomy (Johnston, 2003).
Abortions have always been a very controversial topic. Over the years we continue to fight for or against it. One can say that is one of the most talked and argued topic in the United States. An abortion is when a woman terminates her pregnancy before the fetus is viable using various of methods. Some argue that abortions should be illegal and considered murder, while others, from a religious point of view, say that no one has the right to take away the life of a person, in this case the fetus. However, others insist, that abortions are a basic women’s right.