ABORTION AND

EUTHANASIA
 ABORTION
• Definition: is the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion
from the uterus of a fetus or embryo before viability.
• defines an "abortus" as "[a] fetus or embryo removed or expelled from the
uterus during the first half of gestation—20 weeks or less, or in the absence
of accurate dating criteria, born weighing < 500 g
• ." They also define "birth" as "[t]he complete expulsion or extraction from
the mother of a fetus after 20 weeks' gestation. ... in the absence of accurate
dating criteria, fetuses weighing <500 g are usually not considered as births,
but rather are termed abortuses for purposes of vital
statistics." Cunningham, FG; Leveno, KJ; Bloom, SL et al., eds. (2010). "1.
Overview of Obstetrics". Williams Obstetrics (23 ed.).
• An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is often called
a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced.
• The term abortion most commonly refers to the induced abortion of a human
pregnancy. After viability, the relevant procedure is referred to as a "late
termination of pregnancy"
• Induced abortion has long been the source of considerable debate,
controversy, and activism. An individual's position concerning the complex
ethical, moral, philosophical, biological, and legal issues which surround
abortion is often related to his or her value system.
• Opinions of abortion may be described as being a combination of beliefs
about abortion's morality, beliefs about the proper extent of governmental
authority in public policy, and beliefs about the rights and responsibilities of
the woman seeking to have an abortion.
 DEBATE
• 1-If you believe a fetus is a human person with the “right to life” in the sense
you mean it, why don’t you hold a funeral after a miscarriage?
• Islamic tradition has traditionally permitted abortion until a point in time
when Muslims believe the soul enters the fetus,[105] considered by various
theologians to be at conception, 40 days after conception, 120 days after
conception, or quickening.
• 2- If you believe that all abortions are murders, what do you say to a woman
with an ectopic pregnancy that is absolutely not viable under any
circumstances and that, if attempted to be carried on without intervention,
will end the mother’s life (and the fetus’s) in unimaginable agony?
• 3- If you believe absolutely in “reproductive rights,” do you believe a person
should be allowed by law to clone himself ? If not, why not?
• 4- If you believe that a human embryo/fetus is a full human life for religious
reasons, worthy of the full protection of law from conception on, how do
you deal with the fact that the Bible says little to nothing about abortion?
• 5- If you believe that a human infant, newly born, is worthy of the full
protection of law against murder and abuse but that a full term fetus is not,
how exactly do you draw the line at which that right to protection begins?
• What exactly is the difference between a fully developed and ready-to-be-
born fetus and a just-born infant—in terms of ontology (being) and ethics
(rights)?
 EUTHANASIA

• Definition: refers to the practice of

intentionally ending a life in order
to relieve pain and suffering.
 Classification of euthanasia
• Euthanasia may be classified according to whether a person gives informed
consent into three types: voluntary, non-voluntary and involuntary.[24][25]
• There is a debate within the medical and bioethics literature about whether
or not the non-voluntary (and by extension, involuntary) killing of patients
can be regarded as euthanasia, irrespective of intent or the patient's
circumstances. In the definitions offered by Beauchamp & Davidson and,
later, by Wreen, consent on the part of the patient was not considered to be
one of their criteria, although it may have been required to justify euthanasia.
However, others see consent as essential.
 Voluntary euthanasia
• Euthanasia conducted with the consent of the patient is termed voluntary
euthanasia.
• Active voluntary euthanasia is legal in Belgium, Luxembourg and the
Netherlands. Passive voluntary euthanasia is legal throughout the U.S.
per Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health.
• When the patient brings about his or her own death with the assistance of a
physician, the termassisted suicide is often used instead. Assisted suicide is
legal in Switzerland and the U.S. states of Oregon, Washington and Montana.
 Non-voluntary euthanasia

• Euthanasia conducted where the consent of the patient is unavailable is

termed non-voluntary euthanasia.
• Examples include child euthanasia, which is illegal worldwide but
decriminalised under certain specific circumstances in the Netherlands under
the Groningen Protocol.
 Involuntary euthanasia

• Euthanasia conducted against the will of the patient is termed involuntary

euthanasia.
 Passive and active euthanasia

• Voluntary, non-voluntary and involuntary euthanasia can all be further

divided into passive or active variants. Passive euthanasia entails the
withholding of common treatments, such as antibiotics, necessary for the
continuance of life. Active euthanasia entails the use of lethal substances or
forces, such as administering a lethal injection, to kill and is the most
controversial means. A number of authors consider these terms to be
misleading and unhelpful.
• 1- Do we have a "right to die?“
• 2- What kind of treatments and interventions, then, are morally
obligatory, and which are not?
• 3- Shouldn't a person be able to say that his or her pain and
suffering is too much to bear, and have the right to be free of that
suffering?
• 4- What about people who are unable to communicate?
• 5- Is it acceptable to sign a "Living Will?“
• 6- How does "voluntary" euthanasia lead to non-voluntary" euthanasia?
• 7- Must we always provide food and fluids to a patient?