Asunto(s)
Aborto Legal/legislación & jurisprudencia , Investigaciones con Embriones/legislación & jurisprudencia , Embrión de Mamíferos , Internacionalidad , Células Madre , Aborto Legal/historia , Comités Consultivos , Embrión de Mamíferos/citología , Financiación Gubernamental , Alemania , Historia del Siglo XX , Humanos , Legislación Médica , Política Pública , Apoyo a la Investigación como Asunto , Reino Unido , Estados UnidosAsunto(s)
Aborto Eugénico/legislación & jurisprudencia , Asesoramiento Genético/legislación & jurisprudencia , Asesoramiento Genético/normas , Enfermedades Genéticas Congénitas/clasificación , Autonomía Personal , Diagnóstico Prenatal , Derecho de no Nacer , Aborto Legal/legislación & jurisprudencia , Conducta de Elección/ética , Derechos Civiles/legislación & jurisprudencia , Conciencia , Consejo Dirigido/ética , Consejo Dirigido/legislación & jurisprudencia , Personas con Discapacidad , Revelación/legislación & jurisprudencia , Revelación/normas , Inglaterra , Femenino , Humanos , Consentimiento Informado/legislación & jurisprudencia , Consentimiento Informado/normas , Jurisprudencia , Legislación Médica , Responsabilidad Legal , Padres , Médicos/ética , Médicos/legislación & jurisprudencia , Embarazo , Mujeres Embarazadas , Atención Prenatal/normas , Derechos Sexuales y Reproductivos/ética , Derechos Sexuales y Reproductivos/legislación & jurisprudencia , Decisiones de la Corte Suprema , Estados UnidosAsunto(s)
Aborto Legal , Legislación Médica , Conducta de Elección , Femenino , Humanos , Embarazo , Medicina Estatal , Reino UnidoRESUMEN
Since the introduction of the Abortion Act 1967 the legality and status of abortion in Northern Ireland, being excluded from the provisions of the 1967 Act, has remained shrouded in uncertainty. In light of the introduction of the Human Rights Act 1998, this article will explore whether this inconsistency in the UK is in breach of the provisions laid down in Articles 8 and 14. It will be shown that while compelling arguments can be built under these provisions, perhaps the most persuasive arguments in favour of law reform are the inequities that the current legal regime has perpetuated.
Asunto(s)
Aborto Legal/legislación & jurisprudencia , Derechos Humanos/legislación & jurisprudencia , Aborto Legal/historia , Europa (Continente) , Femenino , Accesibilidad a los Servicios de Salud/legislación & jurisprudencia , Historia del Siglo XIX , Historia del Siglo XX , Humanos , Legislación Médica/historia , Irlanda del Norte , Embarazo , Reino UnidoRESUMEN
The principle of patient self-determination has assumed central importance in British medical law in recent years. This article considers whether this increasingly strong commitment to patient autonomy has any resonance for abortion law. In particular, this article explores the possibility that the priority currently accorded to autonomous decision making may be in tension with the Abortion Act's requirement that a woman's reasons for seeking to terminate her pregnancy be judged acceptable by two medical practitioners. Moreover, interest in the moral legitimacy of a woman's reasons for wanting to terminate her pregnancy seems to be intensifying. Concerns arising from the increasing availability of precise prenatal tests have led to suggestions that access to abortion should be further restricted in order to prevent the cavalier use of abortion for reasons that might seem trivial or misguided. Using abortion following prenatal diagnosis as an example, this article considers whether it is anomalous for the common law's vigorous protection of an individual's freedom to make irrational or morally objectionable choices about his or her medical treatment to coexist with demands for further restriction of the acceptable grounds for abortion.
Asunto(s)
Aborto Eugénico/ética , Aborto Eugénico/legislación & jurisprudencia , Toma de Decisiones , Autonomía Personal , Mujeres Embarazadas , Diagnóstico Prenatal , Conducta de Elección/ética , Análisis Ético , Femenino , Enfermedades Genéticas Congénitas , Humanos , Legislación como Asunto , Motivación , Embarazo , Mujeres Embarazadas/psicología , Diagnóstico Prenatal/ética , Análisis para Determinación del Sexo , Negativa del Paciente al Tratamiento/legislación & jurisprudencia , Reino UnidoRESUMEN
The 1967 Abortion Act did not quell public discussion on therapeutic abortions in Britain. Criticism of the way the Act was working began almost as soon as the legislation came into force. After only three years, a committee of enquiry, chaired by Justice Elizabeth Lane, studied the working of the Act. This Committee caused some surprise on all sides of the abortion debate by offering unanimous support for the Act in its original form. Understanding how the Lane Committee arrived at its unexpected recommendations is important not only because the Report has proved to be an enduring endorsement of the Act but also because the Lane Committee provides a case study of the process of policy formulation at the level of a committee of enquiry. The Lane Committee appears to have achieved consensus incrementally. First a majority and then the whole Committee supported the Act as a humane measure requiring regulatory and not legislative solutions to the problems of its working. Using both written and oral sources, I will argue that consensus evolved through the compelling leadership of several key members of the majority group with particular influence by the most psychosocially oriented members of the Committee.
Asunto(s)
Aborto Terapéutico/historia , Agencias Gubernamentales/historia , Política de Salud/historia , Legislación Médica/historia , Política , Historia del Siglo XX , Reino UnidoRESUMEN
This article examines the technique and legality of induced abortion of one or more fetuses in a multiple pregnancy, where the aim is the destruction of some but not all of the fetuses present (selective reduction of pregnancy). It concludes that since the legal status of the procedure in English law is unclear, it may be a criminal offence to perform selective reduction even where there is an ostensible clinical need. Moreover if the procedure is carried out negligently, and any infant damaged as a result is subsequently born alive, he or she may have a civil claim against the practitioner who carried out the procedure.
Asunto(s)
Aborto Legal , Reducción de Embarazo Multifetal , Inglaterra , Ética Médica , Femenino , Edad Gestacional , Regulación Gubernamental , Derechos Humanos , Humanos , Embarazo , Reducción de Embarazo Multifetal/efectos adversos , Reducción de Embarazo Multifetal/métodos , Mujeres Embarazadas , Medición de Riesgo , Factores de RiesgoRESUMEN
The debate regarding the practice and role of abortion has been an enduring and problematic area of discourse within the nursing literature, with a tendency towards a polarized and inevitably simplistic analysis of what, for many practitioners, women and families, remains a highly complex and morally fraught concept. This paper attempts to explore the concept of abortion from within a feminist epistemology, to present a review of the literature as regards women's reproductive health and responsibilities, and thereby to contribute to the process of better understanding the role of abortion within contemporary health care practice. In order to facilitate the study it has been necessary to explore the wide spectrum of historical, philosophical, legal, moral and political imperatives pertaining to the meaning of abortion as represented within contemporary society, not only in relation to women and their reproductive health, but to feminism, women's well-being and self-determinism per se.
PIP: The debate regarding the practice and role of abortion has been an enduring and problematic area of discourse within the nursing literature, with a tendency towards a polarized and inevitably simplistic analysis of what for many practitioners, women, and families remains a highly complex and morally fraught concept. This paper attempts to explore the concept of abortion from within a feminist epistemology, to present a review of the literature with regards to women's reproductive health and responsibilities, and thereby contribute to the process of better understanding the role of abortion within contemporary health care practice. In order to facilitate the study, it has been necessary to explore the wide spectrum of historical, philosophical, legal, moral, and political imperatives pertaining to the meaning of abortion as represented within contemporary society, not only in relation to women and their reproductive health, but to feminism, women's well-being, and self-determinism per se.
Asunto(s)
Aborto Legal , Identidad de Género , Salud de la Mujer , Derechos de la Mujer , Bioética , Conducta de Elección , Femenino , Humanos , Internacionalidad , Autonomía Personal , Política , Embarazo , Mujeres Embarazadas , Valores Sociales , Valor de la VidaAsunto(s)
Aborto Inducido , Jurisprudencia , Paternalismo , Médicos , Autonomía Profesional , Control Social Formal , Derechos de la Mujer , Actitud , Emociones , Femenino , Libertad , Regulación Gubernamental , Humanos , Consentimiento Informado , Rol Judicial , Legislación como Asunto , Responsabilidad Legal , Autonomía Personal , Embarazo , Mujeres Embarazadas , Controles Informales de la Sociedad , Reino Unido , Mujeres , Servicios de Salud para MujeresAsunto(s)
Aborto Inducido , Regulación Gubernamental , Jurisprudencia , Control Social Formal , Aborto Eugénico , Aborto Terapéutico , Humanos , Irlanda , Irlanda del Norte , Médicos , Violación , Reino UnidoAsunto(s)
Aborto Legal , Ceguera/diagnóstico , Diagnóstico Prenatal , Ética Médica , Femenino , Humanos , EmbarazoAsunto(s)
Aborto Legal , Actitud Frente a la Salud , Ginecología , Aborto Inducido/psicología , Femenino , Humanos , EmbarazoRESUMEN
The evidence from gynaecologists in Northern Ireland shows confusion in interpretation and practice of abortion law, with some women even being denied abortion after rape. Over two-thirds of gynaecologists supported a change in the law which would leave the abortion decision to the woman and her doctor, but less than half wanted the introduction of the British law.
PIP: In answer to a June 1992 postal survey question about whether the British 1967 Abortion Act should be extended to Northern Ireland, about 50% of the 43 Irish gynecologists surveyed indicated opposition. Seven supporters indicated that abortion is acceptable only with restrictions, eight agreed with the extension, 21 disagreed, and 2 were uncertain. One gynecologist considered it unfair that women with sufficient resources could go to England to buy an abortion, while those without resources were forced to continue their pregnancies. Another said he will not perform abortions. Three desiring restrictions did not agree with abortion for social reasons, and another said absolutely no abortion on demand. Abortion was recommended only for women up to 20-22 weeks. If a woman's health is at risk, 26 agreed with abortion, eight agreed depending on the circumstances, and three disagreed. Where a woman is HIV positive, 23 agreed with abortion, 11 agreed depending, and eight disagreed. Where fetal handicap is diagnosed, 22 agreed with abortion, 14 agreed depending, and three disagreed. If the woman was raped, 26 agreed with abortion, seven agreed depending, and four disagreed. One gynecologist agreed in all cases. All except one agreed that birth control facilities should be improved for teenagers as a solution to unwanted teenage pregnancy. About 75% wanted improved birth control and less premarital sex. 68.4% thought that the decision to end a pregnancy should be between a woman and her doctor. Those opposed were all older. A British poll of 305 respondents indicates that about 73% support a woman's decision, when it is made in consultation with a physician. 18 indicated conscientious objection to performing an abortion, but only two indicated a willingness to refuse to perform an abortion. The findings are similar to those in British research conducted 27 years ago before the Act was passed. Doctors are concerned about an increased workload and prefer to deal with wanted pregnancies. The strong physician indication that the decision should be made in consultation with a doctor suggests resentment of the law interfering with clinical decisions. The conclusion is that the inconsistent responses reflect a need for rationalization.
Asunto(s)
Aborto Legal , Actitud del Personal de Salud , Ginecología , Religión y Medicina , Adulto , Femenino , Humanos , Recién Nacido , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Irlanda del Norte , EmbarazoAsunto(s)
Aborto Eugénico , Ética Médica , Femenino , Humanos , Embarazo , Tercer Trimestre del Embarazo , Mujeres EmbarazadasRESUMEN
In 1989, in the wake of the first operations to transplant fetal tissue into the brains of sufferers from Parkinson's Disease, the UK Code of Practice governing the use of the fetus for research was overhauled by an eminent committee under the chairmanship of the Reverend Dr John Polkinghorne. The Polkinghorne Report has, however, attracted remarkably little comment or analysis. This paper is believed to be the first to subject it to sustained ethical and legal scrutiny. The author concludes that, although the committee's recommendations meet the major objections to the Code of Practice, the report is nevertheless vulnerable to criticism in its treatment of at least three issues: the moral status of the fetus; paternal consent to fetal use, and the ethical inter-relation of fetal use and abortion.
PIP: The first fetal tissue transplants to benefit people with Parkinson's Disease prompted the UK to create a committee in 1989 to revise the Code of Practice on the Use of Fetuses and Fetal Material for Research. The new code redresses most of the earlier code's weaknesses, resulting in acceptable recommendations. Yet, the committee's reasoning is weak regarding the moral status of the living fetus in utero before implantation and of the living fetus ex utero, parental consent, and the ethical relationship between use of the fetus and abortion. The report does not define fully-developed and/or fully-formed human being. It uses potentiality as a criterion for moral worth, but not every fetus has the potential to become a fully-developed human being. The report uses vague terms (e.g., broadly comparable). The report claims that it is unethical to use a fetus for research yet accepts a mother's consenting to nontherapeutic research on an aborted fetus. The committee does not address the objection that a woman who chooses to abort a fetus for other than serious reasons does not have the child's best interests at heart. Its reasoning for rejecting paternal consent are either incorrect or irrelevant. For example, it recognizes that tests on the fetus may have implications for the father yet decides that his consent is not needed, since his relationship with the fetus is less intimate than that of a mother--a vague conclusion. The new code states that the decision to terminate a pregnancy must be made without thinking of the benefits of using the fetus. The committee uses vague reasoning to reject the argument that abortion corrupts any beneficial use of fetal material. It is inconsistent when it objects to harmful research and abortion to produce tissue but does not object to abortion for other reasons.
Asunto(s)
Feto Abortado , Complicidad , Ética Médica , Investigación Fetal , Trasplante de Tejido Fetal/legislación & jurisprudencia , Feto , Experimentación Humana , Vergüenza , Comités Consultivos , Investigación Biomédica , Donación Directa de Tejido , Inglaterra , Femenino , Viabilidad Fetal , Humanos , Recién Nacido , Tutores Legales , Obligaciones Morales , Experimentación Humana no Terapéutica , Consentimiento Paterno , Filosofía Médica , Embarazo , Obtención de Tejidos y ÓrganosAsunto(s)
Aborto Inducido , Consejo , Difusión de la Información , Servicios de Información , Jurisprudencia , Embarazo , Mujeres Embarazadas , Derechos Civiles , Toma de Decisiones , Feto , Derechos Humanos , Humanos , Cooperación Internacional , Internacionalidad , Irlanda , Rol Judicial , Reino Unido , Valor de la VidaAsunto(s)
Aborto Legal , Códigos de Ética , Ética en Enfermería , Práctica Profesional/normas , Beneficencia , Principio del Doble Efecto , Teoría Ética , Ética , Humanos , IntenciónRESUMEN
PIP: Substantial legal barriers to abortion persist in both the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland, despite growing popular support for abortion under certain conditions. A 1983 amendment to the republic's constitution guarantees the fetus the same right to life s the mother and bans the provision of information on abortion. Although a recent well publicized case of a pregnant, suicidal 14-year-old who travelled to England for an abortion resulted in an Irish Supreme Court ruling that abortion was acceptable in cases of "real and substantial risk" to a woman's life, uncertainty still surrounds the right to travel to England for the procedure. In Northern Ireland, the 1967 Abortion Act does not apply and abortions are denied even in cases of rape and incest. A total of 1766 women from Northern Ireland and 4158 from the republic travelled to England for abortions in 1991. Public opinion seems to have shifted toward support for less restrictive abortion laws, however. Whereas 80% of those surveyed in a 1980 Irish poll supported to ban on abortion in all cases, this statistic had dropped to 30% by 1990. Similarly, a 1991 poll taken in Northern Ireland found 80% of respondents to be a favor of abortion in cases where the procedure is necessary to maintain a woman's physical or mental health.^ieng