Nursing & Ethical Issue



Nursing & Ethical Issue

Introduction

Nursing is the provision of care o the unhealthy or sick individuals for the prevention, rehabilitation, cure and promotional needs. Nurses have increased roles along with legal responsibilities. The nurses must have legal knowledge about the legal and ethical issues within their hospital, community and educational field. Nurses face various ethical dilemma and legal implications in their daily practice (docstoc.com). Nurse is the one, who has completed the basic programming of nursing education, is qualified, and is responsible for exhibiting nursing nature for the promotion of health and prevention of illness. Nursing is the individual's assistance for the activities leading towards contribution of health and recovering with strength. The nursing responsibilities comprise of nursing diagnosis provision to the patients with basic needs without any type of discrimination. While dealing with humans as a nurse, ethics and ethical issues are an important concern. One of the ethical dilemmas of nursing is abortion. The nurses have to decide whether to choose between what is right or wrong, make ethical decisions and choose what is best for oneself (docstoc.com).

Abortion is generally described for termination of pregnancy. Abortion can be taken through medication or surgery. With increasing rates of abortion worldwide, the health professionals are concerned with the ethical and moral issues related to abortion. It is generally considered that abortion must not be practiced when the fetus has gone through genetically and biological development (Fromer, 1984). Some anti-abortion movements do not allow terminating the creation of new life. Some view that the woman has every right to go for an abortion. Every incident and every woman must be treated as a different case. The women's right must be given priority compared to the fetus' right to life. Abortion is permitted when pregnancy becomes a danger to the woman's health. It is important that the women's requirements are prioritized related to concern of abortion. For the improvement of medical services, healthcare professionals are requires to ask knowledge form the woman related to abortion to consider suitable ethical issues. It must be assured that the woman has all the information related to possible risks and problems. Also, the woman must be informed about the measures for reduction in pain, and what are the possible expectations during and after the procedure (Fromer, 1984).

Discussion

According to the World Medical Association 1948 Declaration of Geneva, it is considered that all the members of human race have a right to live. Different religions have different perspectives about abortion. In Islam, abortion is only allowed under special circumstances. Jews neither consider the fetus a part of women's body after 40 days of pregnancy, therefore abortion after that is nor religiously allowed. According to the law in the US, woman is allowed to abort the pregnant in the first-trimester. The second trimester decision is rested upon the court whereas the third trimester abortions are strongly discouraged. Many religious groups adamantly oppose abortion (Mariutti, 2007).

Elective abortions performed have increased and the procedure has become a ...