October 11, 2024
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Third trimester abortion is moral and necessary medical care
Abortion after 20 weeks is the end of suffering. denying someone that care is barbaric
They travel tens, hundreds, and sometimes thousands of miles in search of medical care. They say the fetal condition is so severe that the baby cannot survive. Or they are too young to consent to sex, let alone become parents. For others, it may be their first chance to escape domestic violence, or they may live in a state with too many restrictions and have no immediate access to abortion care.
Most estimates suggest that a small number (1%) Abortion occurs after 20 weeksand not in the horrible way people would have you believe.
What I’m doing, while filling a syringe with a chemical that will stop a fetus’ heart, is to end the suffering of babies with brittle bone disease who don’t survive labor and delivery, and their parents who do. It’s about meeting the patient’s needs. I can’t bear to witness it. Polarizing political rhetoric such as “pulling babies from the womb right before birth” or “no one aborts a baby near its due date” is simple and wrong. Third trimester abortion is very important for those who need it. For them, politics is irrelevant. They need the care they need.
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Contrary to what people think about doctors who provide late-trimester abortion care, all of us involved in this work have thought deeply about the moral and ethical implications of doing so. We concluded that not only was it consistent with our personal values, but refusing would be a violation of our own conscience and professional ethics. Although conscientious refusal of treatment, in which physicians cannot be forced to provide treatment to which they morally object, is frequently discussed, conscientious treatment provision has received less attention. I provide late-trimester abortions, but I am not responsible for endangering a person’s life and well-being by forcing her to carry a pregnancy to term, against her wishes and best judgment. Because it violates the moral standards of
Within the idea of moral norms there is a distinction between moral simplicity and moral clarity. Terminating a pregnancy late in pregnancy is not moral simple. Even abortion care advocates may view these abortions differently than early-trimester abortions. moral clarity, But remember that few events have as much influence on the trajectory of a person’s life as the decision whether to give birth and the conditions for giving birth. People seeking abortion care have already made a moral calculation and concluded that terminating the pregnancy is the right decision.
People are certainly best placed to judge their own life circumstances, so it is strange that so many politicians seem comfortable leaving this moral choice to individual state legislatures. be. When a person’s instinct is to take on suffering so that their children don’t have to suffer, or to prevent them from suffering in the first place, I have a moral obligation to support them in this tough choice. Because it would be unconscionable not to do so.
The following quote by Atul Gawande hangs in my office: But whatever we can offer, our intervention, and the risks and sacrifices that come with it, are only justified if it serves the greater purpose of a person’s life. If we forget that, the suffering we inflict can be barbaric. When we remember that, the good deeds we do will be breathtaking. ”
Once the patient is ready, I slowly inject the substance and watch the fetal heartbeat slow, slow, and then stop. Remove the needle. I hold her hand. I told her the injection worked. I tell her that I’m really sorry that this situation is happening. They still thank me. They always thank me. This feeling of gratitude perplexed me until one of my patients explained that compassionate care “makes an unbearable situation a little more bearable.”
I then induce labor and terminate her pregnancy. Along with the deep sadness that hangs in the room, I often see love and comfort, an excruciating sadness and a sense of relief at the same time. I hope that having some agency and choice in how this devastating situation ends provides at least some small comfort to this person and his family. What I do know is that denying them agency at this time is barbaric.
This is an opinion and analysis article and the views expressed by the author are not necessarily those of the author. scientific american.
