LAW AND ETHICS

Law and Ethics

Law and Ethics

Introduction

This paper is based on a case study that involves Sara a pregnant woman in this case, who is to undergo her fifth pregnancy. Earlier four of her deliveries had been successful and she is already a mother of four. This case revolves around the complications and legal issues that have resulted due to complicated nature of fifth pregnancy. The case in point is that, according Sarah, this one is an unplanned pregnancy, and neither of the two had wanted this to happen. Now we have to advice Sarah with this issue.

Central in abortion is the status of the pregnant girl or woman (such as Sarah in this case). Whether or not she is able to fully consent to the procedure is vital. If a woman (such as Sarah in this case) is forced to have an abortion by angry relatives, her husband or lover, or controlling and coercive government officials, she is not the agent of her own body and reproductive choices. When women have the status to choose for themselves whether to continue or to terminate a pregnancy, it is safer for them and better for their families and communities. Controversial, then, is women's power to control their own reproductive lives through various means, including abortion.

Another important issue in abortion is the definition and attitudes toward the nature of a woman (such as Sarah in this case)'s pregnancy.

Judicial Involvement in the United States

In the United States, many Supreme Court decisions have shaped abortion politics and practices. The most important ones include the following: Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965), recognized a married couple's privacy rights regarding their sexual and reproductive decisions. The decision permitted married couples to use birth control. Eisenstadt v. Baird, 405 U.S. 438 (1972), extended birth control options to unmarried adults based on the right of privacy. Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), asserted that the right of privacy includes decisions on abortions. However, a trimester and viability standard was set out in which the woman (such as Sarah in this case) and her doctor can make the decision about whether to terminate a pregnancy. A compelling interest of the state in regulating abortions increases as the gestation lengthens and the fetus might be reaching a point of viability.

In Harris v. McRae, 448 U.S. 297 (1980), the Supreme Court upheld congressional legislation called the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits government health care money for the poor from being used for abortions. Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health, 462 U.S. 416 (1983), struck down some local abortion regulations enacted by the City of Akron, Ohio. Later, Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, 492 U.S. 490 (1989), upheld many provisions of a restrictive Missouri abortion law. This approach permits states to regulate legal abortions more intrusively.

In Rust v. Sullivan, 500 U.S. 173 (1991), the Supreme Court upheld the federal government “gag rule,” which prohibits employees of federally funded family planning clinics from providing information or counseling about legal ...