PHIL 434 Week 8 Term Paper Final Draft Template (1)

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Apr 3, 2024

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1 Week 8 Term Paper Final Draft Paula Hernandez West Coast University PHIL 434: Medical Ethics and Issues Lucas Ulrich March 20,2024

2 Week 4 Term Paper Final Draft Reproductive rights, ethics, and legal frameworks are all closely linked to the topic of abortion, which is a difficult and strongly debated topic. The word "abortion" itself implies a variety of medical procedures that aim to terminate a pregnancy. This essay discusses the technical aspects of the abortion debate, the rise of governmental regulations related to it, and the moral reasons for and against abortion rights. However, it does not dig into the complexity of the topic. There is a contradicting position in the argument around this issue, between advocates arguing fetal life sanctity and opponents emphasizing a woman's autonomy in making decisions. A number of variables including the woman's health and the gestational stage of the pregnancy, different medical methods may be utilized throughout abortions to stop a pregnancy. Medical abortions performed during the early stages of pregnancy usually entail the use of drugs like misoprostol and mifepristone. Misoprostol causes contractions to force the uterus' contents out, whereas mifepristone inhibits progesterone, a hormone essential to sustaining pregnancy (Medication abortion up to 70 days of gestation," n.d.). Conversely, surgical procedures involve techniques like vacuum aspiration and dilatation and curettage ("Dilation and curettage (D&C)," 2023). While D&C entails dilating the cervix and scraping or suctioning the uterine lining, suction aspiration uses a suction instrument to remove the contents of the uterus (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 2020). Gaining knowledge about the evolving laws surrounding abortion is important for comprehending public policy debates. In 1973, the historic Roe v. Wade case defended a woman's freedom to choose by legalizing abortion on a national level. States do, however, vary greatly in their abortion laws, which adds to the patchwork of the states' regulations. Abortion availability is affected by state-specific waiting periods, ultrasound regulations, and

3 gestational age constraints (Guttmacher Institute, 2021). The debates around legislation aiming to limit or increase access to abortion services have been heating up in recent years. These discussions frequently center on the permissibility of particular operations, gestational age restrictions, and laws controlling abortion facilities (Guttmacher Institute, 2021). Supporters for abortion rights make their argument that women have the moral right to make decisions about their own bodies from the standpoint of individual autonomy. This is in line with the ethical concept of autonomy, which highlights how important it is to respect people's right to make decisions that have an impact on their lives freely. Allowing women access to safe and legal abortion procedures maximizes happiness while minimizing suffering, according to utilitarian theory. Abortion availability helps people and society by reducing harm resulting from unplanned pregnancies. However, those who oppose abortion often agree to ethical theories like Kantian Ethics, which emphasizes greater importance over human life. According to this viewpoint, ending a pregnancy is morally wrong because it goes against the idea that every human being should be treated as an end in themselves, as opposed to as a means to an end. Arguments in favor of abortion rights focus on the moral implications of women's reproductive decisions and are based on both utilitarian and individual autonomy. Advocates of abortion rights place a strong emphasis on women's autonomy and the value of making ethical choices about one's body. They frequently argue that it is women's moral obligation to make decisions that uphold their autonomy and that doing otherwise would be immoral (Smith, 2019). Utilitarianism emphasizes the significance of the greatest benefit for the largest number of people by assessing acts based on their results and consequences. Abortion rights advocates believe that allowing women to choose abortion complies with the utilitarian ideal of maximizing happiness while avoiding suffering (Räsänen, 2021).

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