Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Background Information
A Womens Right to Know: Informed Consent to Abortion Act of 1993
The Informed Consent law took effect on September 15, 1999 after a 5-1/2 year court battle.
Within months evidence began mounting that abortion clinics were doing all they could to
avoid following the spirit and intent of the law.
The court settlement allows women to receive the required written information 24 hours in
advance by means of electronic transmission.
Abortion clinics subsequently set up internet websites, telling women they only need to
click on the website to comply with the informed consent law.
These websites offered no mechanism to ensure that the women actually received the
required information.
Abortion Pros
Sometimes life can be really harsh on us. There are times when abortion may
appear as the only option for the betterment. Although a mother may have a
hard time opting for this option she may eventually consider this soul-killing
decision.
Even though most pregnant mothers have a hard time choosing whether or
not to get an abortion it is generally safe and has been performed successfully
before
Abortion Cons
A baby is often considered as a Gods gift and it is believed that every living
being has a purpose behind his/her birth.
Having a abortion can carry the risk of not being able to become pregnant
ever again in life.
Abortions is murder.
Abortions can lead to serious health complications, and in some cases the
worst case scenario can be death.
Leads to unwanted memories, which can result into great stress and
depression. Woman experience a feeling of guilt which can last a lifetime.
www.plannedparenthood.org
www.cath4choice.org
www.prochoice.org
www.abortionaccess.org
www.lifeandlibertyforwomen.org
www.naral.org
Cultural Factors
Islam: Islam teaches that life begins at conception and is created by God.
Judaism: The Torah or Jewish law forbids the taking of innocent life and
stresses that human beings are made in the image of God.
Rational Approach
The law requires that certain information be made available to a woman who
is seeking an abortion at least 24 hours prior to the abortion procedure. The
information is designed to provide a woman with accurate and unbiased
information on the procedure she is about to undertake.
The fact that informed consent is a process that requires more than simply
the delivery of information; it also requires dialogue and discussion.
If the goal is to ensure that patients have the opportunity to make as fullinformed a decision as possible, physicians should be allowed the best
opportunity to assess and evaluate all of these considerations as they decide
how best to frame the information for the needs of the patient.
They should also be allowed to frame risk in a manner that their experience is
generally most helpful in communicating to patients, even if they do not try
to tailor it specific to the patient.
Political Approach
The politics of reproduction dominate the political landscape now more than
ever.
The court permitted the State to further its legitimate goal of protecting the
life of the unborn by enacting legislation aimed at ensuring a decision that is
mature and informed, even when in doing so the State expresses a preference
for childbirth over abortion.
Some states require disclosure of only the negative, as opposed to a full range
of, possible emotional responses to abortions.
In conclusion,
The truth of the matter is that abortion is a very serious issue, and depending on
the person it could or could not heavily impact their lives. When someone
discovers that they are pregnant or their significant other is pregnant it could
turn their life upside down. Then all of sudden they are faced with many
questions and must come up with a lot of life changing answers in a short amount
of time.