Abortion has always been a controversial issue since its appearance and a significant event in medicine, such as the Roe decision. It is the subject of many debates, as abortion has controversial points in the context of ethics, religion, and morality. The main topic of controversy is when exactly the fetus may be considered an autonomous organism or if it becomes living only after birth. In addition, unsafe abortions are a problematic issue if they are carried out where it is prohibited. Accordingly, doctors have neither relevant experience nor appropriate equipment, and they have to carry out abortions in “artisanal” conditions. The aim of this paper is to analyze abortion in the context of the law, ethics, and human rights and to identify the solution to the issue.
In the context of legislation, the most important event that influenced the selected issue is the Roe decision. According to this court decision in 1971, the woman had the right to terminate the pregnancy until the fetus became viable, which was accepted controversially by people (Ziegler, 2018). In terms of legislation on abortion in my location, there is an interesting point: the doctor should try to persuade one not to do an abortion and wait 48 hours. In an ethical context, abortion is controversial as one might consider it murder. On the other hand, the Roe decision was revolutionary in terms of freedom of choice for women (Ziegler, 2018). There are some similarities in ethics and laws regarding this issue: namely, attempts to make this process as safe as possible.
Generally, there is a tendency that the more bans on abortion, the more problems appear related to the safety of the process. Additionally, laws and regulations try to protect from wrong decisions. Namely, that abortion should be done consciously. I agree with these rules as many unconscious decisions lead to the patient regretting them. Basically, if one talks about human rights, the prohibition of abortion will violate them (Ziegler, 2018). Therefore, the current legislation satisfies the fulfillment of human freedoms and rights. Nowadays, abortion is not an urgent international problem, although norms and laws are periodically developed to improve the situation. It does not seem to be a problem on an international scale since the current legislation satisfies human life’s moral principles and laws. Although, one should perform more research on when a fetus is considered viable, as it constitutes a contentious issue.
The problem associated with abortion, although not acute, is quite serious. In this regard, one may point out a possible solution to the issue related to prevention. Namely, the development of modern methods of contraception, which would guarantee a 100% result. Moreover, this solution also includes post-factum prevention methods: designing a substance that would prevent the growth of the fetus at the earliest stages. Nanotechnologies are a promising direction in medicine, which could also be involved in this issue. It could be in the form of microscopic particles, which have a protective effect on preventing the evolution of the fetus.
Consequently, one may conclude that abortion is a twofold and controversial phenomenon. Moreover, the controversy lies both in ethical terms and in the legal field. One needs to conduct research on when exactly a fetus is considered impossible to eliminate and in terms of methods to protect and prevent unwanted pregnancies. Furthermore, it is necessary to work out strategies for using modern technologies in this matter. All this will help to nullify all the controversial points associated with this process and make it less ambiguous.
Reference
Ziegler, M. (2018). Beyond abortion: Roe v. Wade and the battle for privacy. Harvard University Press.