Ethical Issues In Babies

A baby deserves to experience and witness life’s beauties. If the mother tragically loses her life during childbirth, it is well worth it.

The notion of capability to live, as applied to a fetus or a neonate, must be understood as having the sense of capability to live, albeit with help, even if it helps crucial for staying

Proponents of punishing pregnant women, who put their fetuses at risk, have highlighted some pertinent legal and ethical issues. One is that a viable fetus (fetus after 27 weeks gestation) has certain rights and privileges. They are of the opinion that as soon as the fetus is viable and can survive independently from it mother, it becomes a

From research published in The New England Journal of Medicine, experts have concluded premature newborns have to have at least 22 weeks in the womb before being able to survive on itself, well after most abortions are performed. Another well-founded line of reasoning from Pro-Life people is that, “Fetuses feel pain during some procedures.” Actually, according to a review by Britain's Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, "most neuroscientists believe that the cortex is necessary for pain perception." The cortex doesn’t function until over 26 weeks of gestation, long after almost all abortions happen. Some say that “abortion defies the word of God.” Remember: The United States has freedom of religion, and the US laws have to respect people of all spiritual

Premature newborns have an increased risk of complications because their bodies still have underdeveloped parts such as the lungs, digestive system, immune system, and skin. Thus, promoting oxygenation, nutrition, and fluid balance, maintaining thermal regulation, resuscitation and transferring the newborn to NICU unit will help the child to get better (Ricci el., 2017, pg. 887).

It is estimated that each year approximately 1060 pregnant women suffer brain death worldwide (somatic support). There are many ethical dilemmas wrapped into this one scenario making it difficult to navigate for healthcare providers. Each state has individual laws regarding treatment of pregnant women unable to make healthcare decisions. In Pennsylvania, the law necessitates life sustaining treatment, including nutrition and hydration to pregnant women who are unable to make healthcare decisions and have an end-stage medical condition. The only exceptions to this law require an attending physician and an obstetrician to agree that providing life sustaining treatment “(1) will not maintain the pregnant woman in such a way as to permit the continuing development and live birth of the unborn child; (2) will be physically harmful to the pregnant woman; or (3) will cause pain to the pregnant woman that cannot be alleviated by medication.” (Title 20 Ch 54 A 5429) Although this law seems clear, interpretations may differ due to case-by-case differences and gray areas.

Some fetuses have profound abnormalities that death is guaranteed before or shortly after birth. “These include anencephaly, in which the brain is missing, and limb-body wall complex, in which organs develop outside the body cavity” (Beth Reinhard, "Should Mothers Be Forced to Bear Disabled Children against Their Will?," nationaljournal.com, Oct. 10, 2013). By doing so woman are forced into a crue; situation to carry a fetus with fatal ongenital defects to term. Even if the fetus is carrying a nonfatal condition, parents/caretakers may be unable to care for a severely disabled child. Deborah Anne Driscoll, MD, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Pennsylvania, said "many couples... don’t have the resources, don’t have the emotional stamina,

In the last 20 years the hopes of survival for neonates have seen significant increase, almost all of the causes of perinatal mortality and morbidity have decreased. There is only one threat unmoved, still standing above the rest- Preterm birth. Prematurity or preterm birth is defined as the birth of any child between 20-37 weeks of gestation. Delivery prior to 20 weeks of gestation is considered a Natural abortion.1 The survival rate of low birth weight infants has significantly increased from 15-80% in the last 20 years. However, the incidence of prematurity has not seen any change, neither decrease nor increase. Currently the average incidence is 10-11%.1

Societies and organizations around the world hold different beliefs on the question of when life begins. Opinions range from the belief that life begins at fertilization to others that believe that life cannot begin until the child is born (Kelly, 1995, p. 65). At the moment it is legal to have an abortion in Great Britain up to the 24th gestation. Those in favor of abortion often suggest the debate centers around when the fetus becomes sufficiently human to have the right, opponents believe the fetus is never anything other than human from conception (BBC Ethics, 2014). However neither side of the abortion debate can draw much support from simple word of mouth, legislation has taken abortion into the hands of medical professionals to determine

The circumstances are as followed: the infant is chronically and permanently comatose, the delivery of such treatment would merely prolong dying, not be effective in perfecting or correcting all of the infant’s life-threatening conditions, or else be useless in terms of the survival of the infant, or the delivery of such treatment would be virtually pointless in terms of the survival of the infant and the treatment itself under such circumstance would be inhumane.

There are currently numerous advancements happening in neonatal care. Deaths among toddlers have dropped, there are more technological advancements now than ever before, with even more progress happening. 1 in every 8 babies born are premature. The number one reason that newborns die is due to being born premature. The invention of incubator was not made until 1891 (The History of Neonatal Intensive Care Units Timeline). This was the beginning of Neonatal Intensive Care, and could save babies that were born at this time only a few weeks early(The History of Neonatal Intensive Care Units Timeline). Before the 1900's, many, if not all premature babies weren't able to be saved. However with the invention of the incubator, most doctors and midwives

The ethical issue of having a three parent baby justifies the risks mankind is willing to take to alter life in its most natural form. Some women who want children have mitochondria problems, and since mitochondria is passed from mother to child it makes the children sick, and they die young, but with this they are allowed healthy children as it replaces the mitochondria in the egg with a donor mitochondria, of course it has to come from another woman’s egg, but that’s no different from donating a kidney, except the egg isn’t alive.

Babies, A babies most important organs, like the brain and lungs, are still developing in weeks thirty seven and thirty eight. Babies born earlier than 39 weeks are the ones that will have the most life threatening conditions that have to be in the intensive care unit, A baby delivered early is likely to have breathing problems because the lungs are not fully developed. Most premature babies

. Rapid development of medicine in the 20th century couldn’t shy away from this side of medicine. New ideas about physiological and pathophysiological processes of productive (genital) system of a man, contemporary approaches towards diagnostics, appearance of new diseases, change of therapeutic methods and preventive measures to avoid pregnancy, appearance of assisted reproductive technologies and prenatal diagnosis lead not only to creation of new specializations in obstetrics and gynecology, but also to appearance of new moral and ethical issues in medical practice. The development of prenatal diagnosis has led to the appearance of new medical indications for the artificial termination of pregnancy.

It is unethical to kill a baby who doesn’t even have a chance or doesn’t even have a voice to tell you that they want to live, says many sources.