The term “abortion” refers to the removal or evacuation of a fetus or an embryo to end a pregnancy. Miscarriages, also known as “spontaneous abortions,” are abortions that take place naturally and happen in 30% to 40% of conceptions. Abortion has raised a lot of controversial discussion in healthcare on the grounds of its legibility to affected women. Different countries have had various regulations on abortion, some have legalized it while others have illegalized the act. Formulation of such laws is often guided by the cultural, religious, and health practices and beliefs of various countries. This paper expounds on the ethical perspectives of abortion and further gives recommendations on the effective methods of handling abortion when it occurs(Hersey et al. 2022). Medical professionals should have background knowledge on managing abortion by following the required legal actions and procedures depending on the presented situation. As such, legal actions should be taken against the medics who violate the provisional regulations. As a health practitioner, following the required professional standards and regulations on abortion shall enable me to avoid the wrath of the law.
Ethical considerations used to justify the relevance of aborting vary from one country to another, cultural and religious practices as well as health practices. As some countries have legalized abortion, some have rejected the move based on their beliefs. In countries where abortion is legal, the move has been made on conditions that health protocols are observed to the latter. As such, doctors are supposed to investigate whether abortion should be done. In this case, abortion is done only when the life of the mother is at risk, and when the pregnancy was obtained in a mischievous way such as rape. Moreover, health professionals must meet requirements set forth by health systems, including those relating to counseling, gestational age restrictions, and minimal advertising failure to which the law shall follow suit(Hersey et al. 2022). On the other hand, various religious groups have argued against abortion. The Catholics for instance have based their arguments on morality and the bible’s teachings that pregnancy termination is against humanity. According to them, life begins at conception, and the act of abortion equals killing, and it’s against the ten commandments in the bible. The abortion laws and regulation posses a great ethical challenge to be resolved as they differ from one country to another.
Health professionals face a lot of dilemma in situations where there are tempted to do an abortion in countries where both the government and the religion prohibits the habit of pregnancy termination. The nurses may be sued for going against the obligations of the country when they follow their health regulations. Those against abortion argue that it can lead to medical complications for the woman including pelvic inflammation, ectopic pregnancies, and miscarriages(Hersey et al. 2022). Moreover, abortion can also lead to psychological distress which comes in the form of physical and emotional health complications for the woman. Besides the health-related complications, humanitarians have also voted against the act based on doing away with life. The proponents of abortion have however emphasized that in events of pregnancies caused by rape, incest, and abusive relationships, the pregnancies should be terminated.
Various health principles have been used as alternatives to guide in the process of deciding to abort. These principles include; autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice ad fidelity. According to the autonomic perspectives, the woman should be allowed to make an independent decision on whether to do an abortion or not and enjoy the freedom of their action. Health experts are obliged to enlighten the patient on various priorities to choose that will best suit their health conditions(Hersey et al. 2022). Nonmaleficence stipulates inflicting no damage or harm to other individuals. As such, the act of abortion should cause no damage to any individual. The counselor’s obligation to promote the client’s welfare is reflected in their beneficence. Beneficence refers to acting morally, being proactive, and avoiding harm whenever possible. As such health experts should act within the moral confines to ensure the abortion decision.
Justice entails treating those who are equal in treatment and those who are not by their significant distinctions. If a person is to be handled specially during an abortion, the therapist must be able to justify why it is necessary and proper to treat this person differently. Lastly, fidelity is embedded in faithfulness, loyalty, and heeding commitments. If clients are to grow, they must be able to put their faith in the counselor and the therapeutic connection. To avoid endangering the therapeutic relationship or failing to fulfill duties, the counselor must exercise caution(Hersey et al. 2022). These alternatives to abortion, however, have conflicting arguments. For instance, while the ideals of autonomy and beneficence may urge a physician to perform the procedure, justice and nonmaleficence are opposed to abortion.
The moral dilemma is created for health professionals through the principle of beneficence which acts morally by avoiding pain whenever possible. The pain in this situation is conducting the act of abortion ending up affecting the developing fetus. As such, the principle prohibits the act of abortion at all costs affecting the health regulations and the patients’ freedom. In some situations where the doctors detect antepartum sepsis, intense cases of preeclampsia, placental abruption, and ectopic pregnancy, they may order for abortion since the mother’s life will be at risk(Hersey et al. 2022). These conditions when not adhered to through the doctor’s instruction, the mother may end up dying. On the other hand, the woman might have gotten pregnant through the forceful infliction of rape. Denying her the right to terminate the pregnancy will socially affect the mother since she will raise a child whom she never planned for.
Autonomy will also bring about a challenge in the decision-making process. It gives the patient the mandate to make any decision based on their perception. As such, most women will consider abortion which will be against humanity and may result in infertility, miscarriage, or even death of the mother when wrongly operated on. To overcome the challenges resulting from abortion, various states, and policymakers should come up with policies that are both health, humanitarian, and socially effective(Hersey et al. 2022). Moreover, health practitioners should be taught various ways of handling victims and only allow for abortion on legally accepted terms. Lastly, the health decision-making principles including autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, fidelity, and justice should be enforced.
In conclusion, based on its legitimacy to afflicted women, abortion has sparked intense debate in the healthcare industry. Several laws guarding against and for the act have been formulated based on cultural, social, and health beliefs and they vary from one country to the other. In countries where abortion is illegal, action has been taken against the health officials who have conducted abortions. Religious beliefs have been used, for instance, the Catholics have based their teaching on biblical perspectives. Ethical decisions have been taken based on legal principles such as autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice, and fidelity. However, the moral dilemma has spiked up as the beneficence principle hinders doctors from doing abortions even with evident health complications to the mother. On the other hand, autonomy has also given the patient mandate of making any decisions on their health thus leading to a high rate of abortion. To solve the abortion problem, countries should enforce strong laws and ensure that doctors are well-trained on ethical issues to enhance their effectiveness.
Reference
Hersey, A. E., Potter-Rutledge, J. M., & Brown, B. P. (2022). Abortion policies at the bedside: Incorporating an ethical framework in the analysis and development of abortion legislation. Journal of Medical Ethics. Web.