ABORTION AND EUTHANASIA

A look at the Pro-Life and Pro-Choice agenda with analysis of beginning of life and end of life points of

view

Jacobi Zakrzewski, Jillian Giesen, Joe McGerr

Dubuque County Right to Life Non-Profit Non-Sectarian Educational Organization Dedicated to preserving and fostering a

respect for human life from conception to natural death.

Methods of Abortion First Trimester

Abortifacients ○ Act to kill a preborn child in the earliest days of life○ Inhibit ovulation and prevent conception

Suction○ “A powerful pump is hooked to a hose which has

serrated suction tip”○ Baby is “ripped apart and sucked through the

narrow hose into a receptacle.”○ “In 1994, 97% of all abortions came from this

procedure”

Methods of Abortion

Second Trimester Saline

○ Needle inserted into mother abdomen and into the babies sac.

○ The baby breathes in, swallowing the salt water solution. The mother delivers a dead or dying baby.

Dilation and Evacuation ○ Dilated cervix, “forceps inserted into womb

and baby is extracted in pieces”○ Baby has calcified bones when this happens

Methods of Abortion Third Trimester

Dilation and Extraction○ Baby extracted in breech fashion until head is just

inside cervix○ “With baby face down, scissors are plunged into

baby’s head and spread open to enlarge the wound”○ “Suction tip inserted and brain removed. Skull

collapses and baby delivered.”Lethal Injection

○ Injection of potassium chloride into the heart of baby, cause cardiac arrest.

○ Drugs given to induce labor and baby is delivered dead.

Bias

Previous information was taken from brochures obtained at Dubuque Right to Life

All procedures are described very graphically

Non-maleficence Little to zero autonomy

Autonomy?

Autonomy?

Fear / Scare Tactics

• Infection is estimated to occur in 5.2% of women

•Over 200 women have died in developed countries from legal abortions since 1973•But globally, 20-30 million legal abortions are performed each year (WebMD)

What if…?

Claims

Claims

Women’s Reaction to Abortion

“Majority of relationships break up” “Over 50% experience nightmares, thoughts

of suicide” Many women “turn to drugs or alcohol” “Gruesome, horrifying procedure” “Possible complications to abortion, even

death” Dubuque Right to Life gives the notion that

an abortion will forever change your life and negative consequences come with it

Planned Parenthood and the abortion pill

Planned Parenthood

Common sense approach to women’s health

Based on respect for each individual’s right to make informed, independent decisions about sex, health, and family planning.

Open for more than 90 years

RU-468 - mifepristone A steroid drug developed in France that

blocks the actions of progesterone on the uterus, bringing on menses and inducing abortion even after the implantation of a fertilized egg

Can be used up to 63 days after the first day of a woman’s last period

Has a 97% effectiveness rate, requiring a surgical abortion to be performed for the 3% ineffective attempts to prevent the risk of birth defects in a child

RU-468 - mifepristone

Hailed for its effectiveness and safety Only 1% chance of complications with

the pill Less than a 1 in 100,000 chance of

death Requires the administration of another

pill, misoprostol, three days after administration to effectively remove the aborted fetus

Planned Parenthood’s stance The pill is described as “safe and

effective” and is available at many Planned Parenthood health centers

Reasons given for why women choose it: “It can be done early,” “It’s private,” “Many women feel it’s more ‘natural,’” “Women may feel more in control,” and “Nearly all women who have used the abortion pill would recommend the method to a friend”

Ethical dilemmas with the pill Maintains surgical abortion as necessary

back up option in the case of a failed attempt

Could likely make abortions more common Potential to blur the lines between

contraception and abortion in the eyes of the public

Potential to emotionally and physically isolate the woman in the abortion process

Women’s reaction to abortion “Most women ultimately feel relief” “Some women feel anger, regret, guilt, or

sadness for a little while. Sudden shifts in hormones may make these feelings stronger”

Planned Parenthood seems to establish the feeling of relief as the normal feeling women experience after abortion, treating negative feelings as being associated with conditional factors rather than a normal response

Euthanasia and its differences with Abortion

Euthanasia

At the patient’s request, someone other than the patient initiates the action that hastens death

Justified by the ethical principle of autonomy in which the right to direct one’s healthcare is valued

Sometimes argued with the Principle of Double Effect

Euthanasia- End of Life Treatment

Pro Choice- Compassion and Choices Arguments

Pro Life- General Arguments

Self-Determination Death with Dignity Ends pain and suffering Prevents a prolonged

poor quality of life Restoration of hope and

comfort

Natural law ethics Devaluing human life Mental stability of the

Terminally ill Slippery Slope Argument Pain management and

Palliative Care

Abortion and Euthanasia

Bioethical issues Involve ending life Controversial

Right to make life-terminating decisions is the main debate for both

Ethical TheoriesPrinciple of Autonomy

Major Differences

Abortion Euthanasia

Terminates a potentially new life

Decision is made by the mother. Not directly by the life to be ended

For the most part legal. Illegal after a certain

amount of time

Terminates an already existing life

Decision is made mostly by the patient requesting death

Illegal