Artificial abortion; reasons and management
Drogendijk, A.C.
Nederlands Tijdschrift Voor Geneeskunde 120(19): 809-814
1976
ISSN/ISBN: 0028-2162 PMID: 1272419 Document Number: 99424
Various ethical and practical aspects concerning induced abortion are discussed. Arguments against abortion can be enumerated on many levels. The unborn fetus has a worth of its own, but it also has a value for the parents and the society as a whole. Guilt feelings can occur in women who undergo induced abortion, and the possibility of complications of the operation must be taken into consideration. Abortion can also cause stress in the physician who performs it and in the partner of the abortion patient. The costs of abortion are paid by society through insurance costs. Abortion can damage the ethical conscience of the abortion patient, the physician who performs the operation, and in the society which allows it. Ethical considerations involved with abortion are also expounded. Induced abortion is a process whereby life is weighed against other considerations. Ethical conscience involves the ability to differentiate between degrees of possible communication, which would differentiate the life of the embryo from that of a retarded child, for example. Guilt feelings are rooted in ethical considerations. The capability for independent existence is the principle ethical boundary involved in determining when abortion is to be permitted. Eugenic abortion is a separate ethical consideration. A schema of practical guidelines for considerations and indications for performing abortions is presented.