Linked Life Data

2240082

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/2240082

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
5 Pt 1
pubmed:dateCreated
1990-12-14
pubmed:abstractText
We defend the view that the obstetrician's response to the abortion controversy cannot be based on accounts of the independent moral status of the fetus, because all such accounts are irresolvably disputable. That response, however, can be based on an account of the dependent moral status of the fetus. For such an account the central question is, "When is the fetus a patient?" Viable fetuses are patients. Nonviable third-trimester fetuses are not patients. Previable fetuses are patients solely as a function of the woman's autonomous decision to confer such status. The abortion of a viable fetus is, with few exceptions, never ethically justified, because it is a patient. The abortion of nonviable third-trimester fetuses (i.e., premature termination of pregnancy) is justified when the pregnant women consents to it. Abortion of the previable fetus is justifiable when the pregnant women consents to it. We distinguish between professional and private conscience. We identify the limits of the former and the legitimate role of the latter, especially in the area of religious beliefs. Finally, we address the implications of our view for residency training programs. The most important of these implications is that requiring all residents to perform abortions is ethically unjustifiable.
pubmed:commentsCorrections
pubmed:keyword
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
AIM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Nov
pubmed:issn
0002-9378
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
163
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
1425-9
pubmed:dateRevised
2007-9-20
pubmed:otherAbstract
PIP: Obstetric ethics are a part of medical ethics and as such they are a secular discipline. To this end the abortion controversy cannot be solved in any theological manner for the obstetrician. To understand abortion in terms of obstetric ethics it must be understood that as a doctor, the primary obligation is to the patient. Now the question arises, when is a fetus a patient? Viable fetuses are patients, nonviable fetuses are not patients, regardless of their gestational age, unless the women grants such status. When the fetus is not a patient the response to the abortion question is clear. However when the fetus is a patient, after viability, then abortion in almost all cases it is unethical. The distinction between professional ethics and private ethics is important because without it obstetricians could be put in a situation where fulfilling the professional obligation to their patient could compromise the private or religious morality. This ethical view about abortion being patient dependent has implications for resident training programs. It is the view of obstetric ethics that doctors should not perform abortions in residency if it is against their personal conviction.
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1990
pubmed:articleTitle
Does obstetric ethics have any role in the obstetrician's response to the abortion controversy?
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, NY 10021.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Review