Abortion

In this paper we are going to discuss the ethical dilemma of abortion in healthcare. In order to increase knowledge, awareness and sensitivity we are going to research and explore an issue that may cause moral distress in this assignment.
Thus, we have chosen the issue of abortion in the course of healthcare dilemma. So, what is actually abortion? According to Grimes (Grimes, D. A.;Benson, J.; Singh, S.; Romero, M.; Ganatra, B.; Okonofua, F. E.; Shah, I. H. 2006), it is the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. As there are two main kinds of abortions according to medical procedure (safe and unsafe), we are going to regard safe abortion only as provided with proper care, treatment and executed by a qualifiedspecialist.
The main course of the dilemma is not the abortion itself, but the circumstances of this operation. Abortion is well-know because of numerous myths around it that are not actually proved with some decent medical-based arguments. That is why the society forms its own myth about abortion adding different parts of what they hear and see to the basics. As for the influence of theissue, it is rather vast. The influence has its impact on families and individuals, medical staff and society. This is happening mainly because of the “sanctity of life” question or, otherwise, whether it is acceptable to kill a fetus. More disputes are made about another topic – are abortions safe enough to use? According to Grimes (Grimes, D. A.; Benson, J.; Singh, S.; Romero, M.; Ganatra, B.;Okonofua, F. E.; Shah, I. H. 2006), “abortion, when induced in the developed world in accordance with local law, is among the safest procedures in medicine”. Of course, there are also other types of general issues about an abortion such as: religious, ethical, medical, social and law aspects.
Each of the aspects represents a field where abortion could be placed in the range of a homicide.However, this position is rather disputable. The first moral question, is controversial – if the abortion interrupts an existing human life? Opponents of abortion say "conceived child", "unborn baby", "baby in the womb." Many believers, especially Christians, consider abortion as the killing of a human including early stage of its development. According to supporters of abortion rights, the embryocannot be considered a child with social rights and from a biological point of view as it is not a separate human being that can survive outside of mother’s womb.
The second moral issue concerns the priority of woman interests over the interests of the embryo, or vice versa. Opponents of abortion put the right to live of the embryo along with women's rights. Supporters of abortion rights gavepriority to women's right to body integrity and freedom of making up her mind about her own body.
However, the policy towards abortion varies from one state to another. Nowadays all countries can be divided in four groups according to the acceptance of abortion.
1. Total ban. In this group of countries abortion is considered a crime against the intrauterine life and is equal to murder.It is considered a criminal abortion as such in Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Venezuela, Guatemala, Honduras, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Yemen, Colombia, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Mali, Nepal, Nicaragua, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Paraguay, Papua New Guinea, El Salvador, Syria, Chile, the Philippines, abortion is completely prohibited (usually, except saving the woman'slife).
2. Therapeutic abortion and other exceptional cases. In Algeria, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ghana, Israel, Kenya, Costa Rica, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Uruguay, abortion is only allowed in case of a threat to life and health of the woman, that is only for medical reasons. For example, in Spain in 1985 abortions were legalized in cases of rape,...