Despite the development of medicine and medications to avoid unwanted pregnancies, this problem is still relevant in today’s world. In cases where the process of fetal development has already begun in a woman’s body, there is an abortion procedure that allows the cycle to be terminated. This possibility is an ambiguous decision, around which there are discussions and views on abortion as a positive technology and as a negative that destroys society. It is necessary to analyze abortion techniques and come to a conclusion about this process.
Before considering abortion, it is necessary to understand its types and identify the differences between spontaneous and procedural. Analyzing the spontaneous type of abortion, we must say that it gets rid of unwanted pregnancy without surgical intervention in a woman’s body (ALFRED CIOFFI, 2019). In turn, it is subdivided into two types, depending on the term of pregnancy:
- Medical abortion. Medical abortion is currently the safest technology for terminating a pregnancy, and it does not require surgical intervention (ALFRED CIOFFI, 2019). Patients are undergoing medical abortions take medications to a prescribed schedule.
- Vacuum abortion. This procedure involves medical intervention into the uterine cavity using special equipment (vacuum aspirator).
What about procedural abortion, this type is an extreme means of getting rid of an unwanted pregnancy. The doctor uses special instruments to dilate the cervix, after which the fetal egg tissue is destroyed and scraped out. Before completing the operation, the surgeon must ensure that all the contents are removed from the uterus (ALFRED CIOFFI, 2019). The effectiveness of the method is very high and amounts to 97% (ALFRED CIOFFI, 2019).
Despite its efficacy, surgical abortion is only worthwhile in extreme cases, as there are risks to a woman’s reproductive health (especially for those who have never given birth). To summarize, it is better to resort to non-surgical methods. It is worth emphasizing once again that the above techniques of abortion depend on the duration of pregnancy. Thus, if pregnancy is up to 20 days, the vacuum abortion is used, up to 9 weeks – medicinal and 12 weeks – surgical (ALFRED CIOFFI, 2019). In addition, there is a moral and ethical side to abortion.
The fact is that the Catholic religion recognizes this procedure as a sin because, based on the idea of Jesus and God’s attitude toward human life, abortion is a choice that violates and denigrates the work of the Highest. By this, the church directs all efforts to maintain the life and health of the human being by promoting that the human being has a soul, which appears in the first moments of conception (USCCB, 2018). From the religious point of view, the individual’s soul is the most precious thing that the Almighty has given to the world, and, accordingly, to get rid of it is considered murder. The religious point of view is widespread in society and manifests itself through the condemnation and censure of women who will have an abortion.
Summarizing the religious position, the following conclusion can be drawn. Abortion should not be permitted because any procedure that results in the termination of pregnancy before viability is contrary to the religious idea (USCCB, 2018). Catholic medical institutions are forbidden to perform abortions, even based on material collaboration. Catholic health care facilities must be prepared to offer compassionate care to abortion victims (USCCB, 2018).
In case of an ectopic pregnancy, it is not morally justifiable to intervene in what constitutes an abortion (USCCB, 2018). For a proportionate reason, delivery can be induced after the fetus has become viable. Non-therapeutic experiments on a living embryo or fetus are not permitted, even with parental consent (USCCB, 2018). Therapeutic research is allowed for a proportionate reason with the free and informed consent of the parents (USCCB, 2018). Medical research that will not harm the life or physical integrity of the unborn child is permitted with parental consent. Thus, the Catholic Church actively opposes abortion and the termination of pregnancies out of a reluctance to have a child.
In addition to abortion itself, there are other ways to avoid an unwanted pregnancy called contraceptives. Contraceptives are pregnancy prevention products available in the form of the morning-after pill and the intrauterine device (ALFRED CIOFFI, 2019). These means are full-fledged alternatives to abortion because they allow a woman’s body not to get pregnant for the time of use. It is important to note that none of the contraceptives guarantee 100% effectiveness in preventing pregnancy (ALFRED CIOFFI, 2019). Therefore, when having intercourse without the goal of getting pregnant, both partners need to use contraception.
Abortion has not always been legalized in many countries; a significant contributor to this was the Roe vs. Wade. The essence of the case is that a girl named Norma McCorvey got pregnant but did not want to have a child (Mariscotti, 2020). She made several attempts to get an abortion, including a criminal abortion and a false report of rape. Both attempts failed, so McCorvey assumed the pseudonym of Jane Rowe and sued, but the lawsuit reached the Supreme Court, which established a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy at her request (Mariscotti, 2020).
The main criterion for such a right was the age of the fetus since a woman could have an abortion before it was viable what does mean the possibility of the fetus existing without the mother’s body (Mariscotti, 2020). Thus, a judicial precedent was set that gave women a legal right to an abortion. However, McCorvey’s phenomenon is that she later admitted that abortion was a sin due to seeing a poster of a 10-week-old fetus (Mariscotti, 2020). She acknowledged that abortion should be understood as a struggle against delayed menses, but not against the embryo inside the mother.
If the embryo is already developing, society can offer alternatives to the abortion. Instead of destroying the baby, it can be placed in an orphanage after birth or keeping baby because the attitude towards pregnancy can still change (ALFRED CIOFFI, 2019). It is worth noting that these alternatives are the choice of every woman and family, so every person should carefully consider each possible option and its ethical and medical consequences.
References
ALFRED CIOFFI. (2019). BIO 602 PROPOSON AB 2 2 19 [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Committee on doctrine of the United States conference of the catholic bishops (USCCB). (2018). Ethical and religious directives for catholic health care services, sixth edition. Digital Edition.
Mariscotti, E. E. (2020). Corporate risks and leadership. What every executive should know about risks, ethics, compliance, and human resources. Taylor & Francis.