ABORTION

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ABORTION
Still an ethical dilemma

• H S Cronjé
• Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
• University of the Free State
• Bloemfontein

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• Ethics is to doing the right thing under
  difficult circumstances

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• Law Culture
• What is right?
• Religion Logic
• External influences

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• The patient is the most important person in
  health care.
• His/her interests come first
• BUT
• Ethical principles may at times override the
  patients wishes

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• Abortion deals with life.
• What is life?

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• Life is the most precious commodity in the
  universe

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• When does life start?

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(No Transcript)
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Pre-embryo
First 14 days

• Undifferentiated cells
• Each cell is multipotential
• Not yet an individual person
• Part of the great loss
• Research allowed (US, UK)

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• Life doesnt start at a specific
• point
• It exists eternally
• God is life and gives life

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• ABORTION
• Moral Pragmatic
• approach approach
• Never Abortion
• abortion on request
• Selective approach

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• Abortion moral approach
• Abortion murder

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Abortion pragmatic approach

• Overpopulation
• Joblessness
• Poverty
• Womens rights

Abortion should be allowed to prevent unwanted
children
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Abortion selective approach

• Mothers life threatened
• Fetal life threatened
• Rape, incest
• Woman lt14/lt16 or gt40 years
• Failed contraception/
• sterilization

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• Which one of these approaches is right?

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• Moral
• Selective
• Pragmatic

Difficult circumstances in an incomplete world
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SOUTH AFRICAN SCENE

• Moral approach - Before 1960
• Selective approach - 1960 1994
• Pragmatic approach - After 1994

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SA LAW

• First trimester Essentially abortion
• on request
• Early 2nd trim Similar, although
• slightly more
• restrictive

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PROS AND CONS OF ABORTION ON REQUEST

• PROS CONS
• Accessible Used for family planning
• Safe Increased cost/
• complications compared to
• Less infec. contraception
• Under control Moral/religious conflict
• of the woman

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• What do we do with the precious and holy life in
• our hands?

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• Will the Provider of Life ask what we have done
  with the most precious gift of all gifts?