ABORTION (MIDTERM)
 The case of ectopic pregnancy in which the fetus is located in
What is abortion?
 Refers to expulsion of human fetus before the period of
viability.
 Expulsion of human fetus can be intentionally or

unintentionally, deliberately or accidentally
Classification of Abortion:
 Direct abortion – intentional or deliberately done to terminate
pregnancy
 Indirect abortion – unintentional expulsion of the fetus
 Spontaneous abortion – accidental expulsion of fetus
Period of viability:
 Refers to the stage of gestation when the human fetus can
survive outside the uterus.
 A period when the baby has the ability to live in the outside
world with or without medical assistance.
 Usually starts at the end of twenty-eight (28th) week of
gestation equivalent to 7 months.
Different types of Abortion:
1. Complete - termination of pregnancy before the fetus is viable
2. Incomplete - a condition where some fetal material remains
within the body
3. Induced - the termination of pregnancy by one’s own choice or
due to a clinical emergency.
4. Septic - usually result from induced abortions done by
untrained practitioners using nonsterile techniques; they are
much more common when induced abortion is illegal
5. Spontaneous - the loss of pregnancy naturally before twenty
weeks of gestation
6. Threatened - associated with bleeding and/or uterine
cramping while the cervix is closed. This stage of abortion may
progress to spontaneous incomplete or complete abortion
7. Therapeutic - the ending of a pregnancy on purpose. It is done
before the fetus is able to survive on its own
Termination of the Life of the Pre-born Child After the
Period of Viability
 Legally performed in some countries – US, Canada, China
 Abortion can take place anytime during the entire gestational
age, from the moment of conception until when the baby is
about to be born.
Following Church Definition of Abortion by
Dr. Brian Clowes:
 Abortion is the intentional or unintentional expulsion of the
pre-born child at any time after fertilization and before the
natural birth process is completed.
Is abortion Moral?
 As long as it is direct, deliberately, or willfully done to
terminate the pregnancy – it is IMMORAL.
 Employed as an end or a means to another end, abortion is
directly willed.
 Blatant transgression of natural law (Ten Commandments)
 Against order of right of reason – that innocent life must not
be taken directly, deliberately, and willfully for whatever
reasons
 Unjust killing of human being of whatever age and stage of
human development.
When is abortion morally permissible?
 When it is therapeutic, spontaneous
 When it is not willfully employed as an end or means.
 Unintended loss of the fetus following a medical or surgical
procedure necessary to preserve life or health of the mother.
 Usually done under the principle of double effect
Example:
the fallopian tube demands immediate surgical intervention so
as to avoid tubal rupture that may endanger the life of the
mother along with that of the fetus.
Is therapeutic abortion moral?
 Therapeutic abortion – is the direct and deliberate performance
of expelling a human fetus to restore the mother’s health
and/or to save a mother’s death
 Here the fetus is directly killed as a form of treatment in an
effort to save the mother.
 The principle of double effect does not apply here.
 Not morally justified
Is abortion morally justified in case of Rape or Incest?
 The innocent victim of criminal attack is allowed to eject or
destroy the sperm before conception takes place.
 The sperm may be removed from the vagina at any time after
the attack since conception has not taken place yet.
 If conception has taken place already, it never morally
permissible to abort an innocent human life.
When does human life begin to exist?
 Philosophical approach
 Human life begins to exist at the very completion of fertilization
which is the union of the sperm and the egg cell.
 Fertilization is identical with conception
 Segmentation approach
 Human life begins maybe later than at the completion of
fertilization (7-8 days or 14-21 days)
 Segmentation is a process by which the zygote divides and
multiples into cells reaching the point of developing possible
existence of twins, triplets or more human lives.
Moral Teachings on the Inviolability of Human Life
 The Church affirms that human life begins to exist at the
moments of conception or fertilization.
 It must be respected and protected absolutely from the
moment of conception.
 From the moment of his existence, a human being must be
recognized as having the rights of a person.
 The inviolable right of every innocent being to life.
 From conception, the child has the right to life.
 Direct abortion is enormously contrary to God’s Moral Law
Maternal-Fetal Conflict
 Maternal-fetal conflict is a term used to identify those
situations in which there is a discordance between the interests
of a pregnant woman and the fetus she is carrying.
 The existence and degree of perceived conflict can be seen to
depend on:
o Whether the woman and fetus have independent interests
and rights deserving respect and support;
o Whether obligations attach to pregnancy; and
o Whether the risk to the fetus posed by the prenatal
behavior of the woman should be subject to state or
medical intervention.
 Can the nurse refuse to participate in any treatment or
intervention in which the direct motive is to frustrate the
generation of life?
"Where a particular treatment, intervention, activity, or practice is morally
objectionable to the nurse....the nurse is justified in refusing to participate
on moral grounds....The nurse is obliged to provide for the patient's safety,
to avoid patient abandonment, and to withdraw only when assured that
alternative sources of nursing care are available to the patient."—American
Nurses Association, Code of Ethics
"Nurses have the right, under responsible procedures, to refuse to assist in
the performance of abortion and/or sterilization procedures....Nurses have
the professional responsibility to provide high quality, impartial nursing care
to all patients in emergency situations....to provide nonjudgmental nursing
care to all patients, either directly or through appropriate and timely
referral....[and] to inform their employers, at the time of employment, of
any attitudes and beliefs that may interfere with essential job functions."—
Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses, position
statement on nurses' rights and responsibilities related to abortion and
sterilization