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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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.
Hinman, Lawrence. “Abortion: A Guide to the Ethical Issues.” May 13, 2010. University of San
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
Abortion is a controversial issue in the United States and internationally even when it is legalized. Though women in the United States are able to receive abortions nurses still have many concerns about the ethical issues surrounding abortion. One of the biggest ethical dilemmas is whether the nurse’s role as a caregiver extends to the fetus. This paper will explore the issues faced by nurses who believe they should care for the fetus. If the definition of a patient includes the fetus then providing abortions is contrary to the nurse’s role as caregiver; however, the mother is definitely a patient and must be cared for as well. It is the nurse’s responsibility to support the woman’s decision so that she may obtain an abortion safely. Nurses who put the life of the fetus first are allowed to refuse to participate in an abortion, but this may affect the way women receive nursing care.
Abortion is the process of terminating a pregnancy by removing the embryo or fetus before birth. Since abortion became legal in the United States in 1973 after the Roe v. Wade trials, there has been many disputes and debates on whether or not the practice of abortion is ethical or not. While many people believe that a woman should have the right to her own body and be able to terminate her pregnancy if she desires to do so, others argue that it is murder. There are many arguments for and against abortion. My points in this paper for the PROs of abortions are #1, Abortions Procedures and #2, women’s rights. I will talk about how abortion being legal offers a safe abortion procedure, and how and why it is a woman 's right to choose what is best
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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.
Being a mother is a lifelong job that requires copious time, energy, and money. There are myriad different reasons in which a woman would consider getting an abortion. The decision is often tragic and painful for the mother. It is one of the biggest choices a woman will make. Many people have strong beliefs about abortion, and if a mother makes a decision that they do not agree with they sometimes turn against the mother, and enkindle egregious feelings about their decision for the rest of their life. Indeed a woman may not get an abortion for selfish reasons or out of convenience, but out of a desire to protect certain important values such as her own health or a decent standard of living for the other members of the family. Additional intentions for having abortion include rape, financial difficulties, obligation by family members, or danger to the baby’s health (Roleff
"Abortion." Current Issues: Macmillan Social Science Library. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 4 Feb. 2014.
On the same note, the prohibition of abortion often results in deaths of women. Scholars have noted that the prohibition of abortion would not essentially stop women from undergoing the procedures. In instances where they feel that it is imperative that they go through the procedure, they always undertake it albeit in secret and dangerous circumstances where they cannot access medical care (Boonin, 20...