Introduction
Nursing ethics equip patients with different departments of rights so as they can fight for their rights. In these departments, abortion is considered to be against human life and therefore it is highly discouraged and opposed in the world health centers. Recently, a forty-year-old woman reported to our obstetric office claiming that she was fourteen weeks pregnant with her first child. She and his husband looked very excited but when the doctor performed the ultrasound, it was obvious that the baby had microcephaly and hence the doctor advised the patient to abort her pregnancy. However, the patient adamantly refused since she was already forty and she may not be pregnant once again. Examining the PRO life values, it is advisable for the woman to keep her baby and refute abortion as outlined by the CON abortion. We as the patient a
...dvocates, we argue that the patient should keep her baby and refute abortion as advised by PRO-life and the CON abortion.
Research
PRO-life movement stands as anti-abortion movements that are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practices of abortion and its legality. Donnelly Jack in the article “Universal human rights” claims that expectant women have the right to make their own decision regarding their bodies (Donnelly, 2013). This is a reflection that no pregnant woman should be forced by a doctor or a nurse to abort her pregnancy unless she accepts to do so. Jack adds that the pregnant women are entitled to a right of making autonomous decisions in the same way as other individuals (Donnelly, 2013). Therefore, their decisions must be respected regardless whether the health professionals such as doctors or nurses agree
or not. This implies that if the patient’s consent is not obtained, the medical treatment that will be conducted will be against the law on several counts unless the patients genuinely agree to receive the treatment.
On the other hand, Petchesky in the article “Abortion and woman’s choice” claims that the issues of abortion should be examined from a combined feminist and the perspectives of Marxist (Petchesky, 1990). In this, Marxist claims that the right to choose an abortion is a necessity under the present social conditions and that the society must be transformed in order to ensure that the sexual division of labor disappears. Additionally, the feminists claim that women must retain control over their own bodies rather than surrendering all their rights despite the transformation of the society (Petchesky, 1990). This displays that the rights of pregnant women should be respected since they own a reproductive freedom. Even though abortion has acquired legality in the United States, the power of women must be respected especially in making their choices.
Paul Saurette and Kelly Gordon have also written an article arguing about abortion in consideration of the new anti-abortion discourse in Canada (Saurette, & Gordon, 2013). This article mainly focuses on analyzing the nature of the contemporary anti-abortion discourse in Canada that is quite different than the portrait offered by the traditional accounts. In reflection, it is clear that abortion harms the fertility of women and violates their rights to procreate. Therefore, health professionals should respect the choices of pregnant women unto whether they should terminate their pregnancy or not. This is supported by the PRO life which considers abortion as the killing of innocent human
being who has the right to life. Saurette and Gordon add that some people are against abortion on principle but recognize that abortion can be the only alternative in some situations (Saurette, & Gordon, 2013). However, the patient’s choice should be considered so as to avoid depression and stressful environments of the patients.
The article on ‘Common Abortion Fallacies’ discusses different thoughts and facts on abortion in relationship to poverty, rape, and disability (Alcorn, 2012). In the article, abortion advocates argue that outing unborn child to death is an acceptable way to avoid physical and mental disability within the society. This is disapproved by different scientists in the article who claims that such acts are barbaric, inhumane and should have no space within the society. For instance, the current world has children of all ages who are alive and living through all means of ailments and disability.
Despite all these physical limitations, they do not make these children and adults less human and it does not imply that killing the children and adults with a disability is the acceptable way to treat sickness amongst the current society. In the same article, Everett Koop who founded the field of pediatric surgery points out that some of the unhappy children have all their physical and mental abilities while a large number of the cheeriest youngsters have borne problems that most people in the world would find it difficult to endure (Alcorn, 2012). In other words, a fetus should be accorded its rights to life unless when the deformity is very severe that it cannot let the unborn child survive.
Case
Examining the case and situation whereby a forty-year pregnant woman is
given the option to abort her pregnancy after her fetus was detected to have a severe microcephaly but the woman adamantly refuses, it is important that the rights of the pregnant woman should be respected as outlined in nursing ethics. Even though her husband is in favor of the abortion, the choices of the pregnant woman should be respected as argued for in the above research. In the research, the feminists claim that women must retain control over their own bodies rather than surrendering all their rights despite the transformation of the society. It is imaginable that the fetus may fail to survive with that kind of a defect but it is the responsibility of the doctors and nurses to significantly explain the situation to the patient until she accepts. However, the abortion should not be conducted without the patient’s acceptance as this would prohibit the women’s pregnancy rights.
On the other hand, microcephaly defect is understood as an abnormal smallness of the fetus head and as a congenital condition that is associated with incomplete development of the brain.
However, according to Everett Koop in the research above, most of the happiest youngsters are suffering from borne defects that most of the world people may find it hard to endure. This statement clearly shows that the patient’s fetus can have a chance to survive though it is very minimal as advised by the doctors. Additionally, abortion is morally wrong and it risks even the life of the mother. Therefore, it is good to fulfill the wishes and rights of the mother to give birth rather than risking her life through abortion. Moreover, giving birth puts the unborn
child on two possibilities of life that are; he or she can either die or survive. However, conducting abortion implies that the unborn child will automatically die. The research conducted by the centers for disease control and prevention claims that microcephaly is a lifelong condition but the babies with the disease can be treated through routine check-ups so as to monitor the baby’s growth and development (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016). Bearing this in mind, it is important to allow the pregnant woman gives birth rather than aborting the fetus as this would make the patient comfortable with the born child.
Conclusion
Pregnant women rights should be respected and given a chance to make choices regarding their bodies. The research done in this paper shows that abortion is a crime and violates the rights of the unborn child since the fetus has the right to life. Additionally, the woman should be allowed to give birth to the child despite the deformities as this would put the unborn child onto two life possibilities that are whether to live or die. Abortion would not solve the situation since it risks the life of the mother as a result of the bleeding and pain that will accompany it.
Reference
Alcorn, R. (2012). Why Pro-life?: Caring for the Unborn and Their Mothers. Hendrickson Publishers. Retrieved from: http://www.abort73.com/abortion/common_objections/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). Facts about microcephaly. Retrieved from CDC Birth Defects Hompage: http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/birthdefects/microcephaly. html.
Donnelly, J. (2013). Universal human rights in theory and practice. Cornell University Press. Retrieved from: http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/?GCOI=80140100112050&fa=author&person_ id=1575
Petchesky, R. P. (1990). Abortion and womans choice: the state sexuality and reproductive freedom. Retrieved from: http://www.popline.org/node/647092
Saurette, P., & Gordon, K. (2013).
Arguing abortion: The new anti-abortion discourse in Canada. Canadian Journal of Political Science, 46(01), 157-185. Retrieved from: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/canadian-journal-of-political-science-revue- canadienne-de-science-politique/article/arguing-abortion-the-new-anti-abortion- discourse-in-canada/704DC0ED49707BF538AAA079186726F1
