Abortion
- Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus.
- Around 73 million induced abortions take place worldwide each year(WHO statistics)
- Around 45% of all abortions are unsafe, of which 97% take place in developing countries.
- Lack of access to safe, timely, affordable and respectful abortion care is a critical public health and human rights issue.
- Ethics of abortion is a complex and controversial topic that involves moral, religious, ethical, and legal issues. There are different arguments for and against abortion.
Bioethical Approach
- Bioethical approaches to abortion often appeal to four principles viz Respect patient’s autonomy,nonmaleficence, beneficence,and justice.
- Autonomy: It is the principle of respecting the choices and rights of individuals, especially patients, to decide what is best for their own health care . This principle means that patients should be given enough information and freedom to consent or decline any medical procedure, and that their personal information and preferences should be protected.
- Beneficence: It is the principle of doing good and improving the health and well-being of others.This principle means that health care providers should offer effective and suitable care to patients, and help them avoid or reduce harm.
- Nonmaleficence: It is the principle of not harming or hurting others, and preventing or limiting unnecessary or excessive harm.This principle means that health care providers should consider the possible risks and benefits of any medical procedure, and not cause intentional or careless harm to patients.
- Justice:It is the principle of being fair and equal, and distributing health care resources according to relevant factors.This principle means that people who have similar needs and situations should receive similar care, and that health care resources should be allocated based on need, efficiency, and effectiveness.
Prolife
- Pro-life means your life matters whether you are a preborn baby, a newborn, an elderly person, or someone with disabilities and special needs.
- Pro-life is the belief that all human life is created equal regardless of size, level of development, education, and degree of dependency.
- Therefore,taking the life of a preborn baby is a violation of the fundamental right to life.
- Pro-life movement is about the value and equality of all human beings.
Prolife Arguments
- Abortion deliberately terminates the existence of an embryo or fetus.
- It is the fundamental human right of an unborn child,not to be killed.The right to life of an unborn child is infringed upon by abortion.
- The unborn child is a human being in its earliest stages of development.There is a need to respect human life at every stage of its development.
- The unborn possesses DNA and a physical form that is distinct from both its mother and father.
- The unborn satisfies the biological prerequisites for life.
- Many religious beliefs oppose abortion, arguing that humans do not have the right to terminate life and that this power should be reserved for a higher power(God).
- Unsafe abortion can lead to physical and mental health complications and social and financial burdens for women,communities and health systems.
ProChoice
- It is the belief that every woman should be endowed with the right to her own life and body.
- Denying a woman an abortion is denying her the right to bodily autonomy (right to privacy).
- The pro-choice movement aims to secure a woman’s reproductive rights.
ProChoice Arguments
- A woman should have total control over her fertility.
- Women should have the freedom to decide whether to continue or terminate their pregnancies.
- The right to abortion is crucial for achieving gender equality.
- Prohibiting abortion endangers women by forcing them to seek out illegal abortion providers.
- In instances of rape, denying a woman the right to an abortion would be an incompassionate act.
- Strict abortion laws are a product of patriarchal thinking.
- A fetus is not considered a ‘person’ and therefore does not qualify for human rights.
- The concept of psychological humanity or personhood, rather than biological humanity, is what truly matters.
- In cases of severe birth defects or dangerous medical conditions in the fetus, there is no alternative to abortion.
- With modern technology, abortion is very safe and unlikely to cause any mental trauma.
Abortion Law in India
- Legal Status: Abortion is legal in India under certain circumstances, as per the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971.
- MTP Amendment Act 2021: This act introduced amendments to the MTP Act 1971, such as allowing women to seek safe abortion services on grounds of contraceptive failure, increasing the gestation limit to 24 weeks for special categories of women, and requiring the opinion of one abortion service provider up to 20 weeks of gestation.
- Women’s Rights: The Supreme Court has noted that a woman’s right to reproductive freedom is an integral component of her freedom under Article 21(Right to life and personal liberty).It also ruled that denying an unmarried woman access to a safe abortion breaches her autonomy and freedom.
Reference
- Abortion(WHO)
- ABORTION PROS AND CONS: 5 PRO-LIFE ARGUMENTS
- Lexicon
- ETHICS, INTEGRITY AND APTITUDE by G Subba Rao IAS and P N Roy Chowdhury IAS
Practice Question
You are a senior bureaucrat in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The government is planning to introduce a new policy on abortion. The policy is aimed at providing unrestricted access to abortion services during the first trimester of pregnancy. However, it also includes a clause that mandates counseling about alternatives to abortion for women seeking these services.The policy has sparked a nationwide debate, with pro-life advocates arguing that life begins at conception and thus, abortion infringes upon the right to life of the unborn child. On the other hand, pro-choice advocates argue for women’s autonomy over their bodies and their right to make decisions about their reproductive health.
Question:
As a senior bureaucrat involved in the formulation of this policy, how would you ensure that the ethical concerns of both pro-life and pro-choice advocates are addressed? Discuss the ethical principles involved and how they can be balanced in this policy.