Abortion Overview

Abortion:

Abortion, a subject often discussed in medico-legal circles, interims various streams of thoughts and multiple discipline, like theology, because most religions have something to say in the matter, ethics, because human conduct and its moral evaluation are the basic issues involved; medicine [in several of its sub-disciplines], because, interference with the body for a curative or supposedly curative issue is at focus; and law, because regulation of human conduct by sanctions enforced by the state through the process of law ultimately become the central theme for discussion.

Abortion may be classified into various categories depending upon the nature and circumstances under which it occurs. For instance, it may be either, (i) natural; (ii) accidental; (iii) spontaneous; (iv) artificial or induced abortion. Abortions falling under the first three categories are not punishable, while induced abortion is criminal unless exempted under the law. Natural abortions is a very common phenomena and may occur due to many reasons, such as bad health, defect in generative organs of the mother, shocks, fear, joy, etc. Accidental abortion very often takes place because of pathological reasons where pregnancy cannot be completed and the uterus empties before the maturity of fetus. Induced abortions are denied in law as an untimely delivery voluntarily procured with intent to destroy the fetus. It may be procured at any time before the natural birth of the child.

When does life begin?

'When does life begin' is a key question to be addressed in the matter of abortion. Technically, by definition, abortion is destruction of life after conception and before birth. Between these two points of terminus, life must have begun. However, literature reveals that life sciences have not offered any well-laid guidelines to determine these crucial questions. Some non-medical men and women have made bold assumptions on the subject, which have come to represent the layman's view. For example, one view states 'to my mind life begins at the moment of conception, and to suggest otherwise seems to be casuistry.....conception is the magic moment......'another view states: ' I do not believe a fertilized ovum is human life in the common sense meaning of the term, I believe human life begins at birth. Or more technically, when a fetus is sufficiently developed to be capable of living if removed from the mothers womb'. That human life begins at the moment of conception is a religious tenet that makes no claim whatsoever to scientific truth.

Each of these two views standing at the extremes, creating a dilemma for the lawmakers. If one were to go by the first view that life begins at the moment of conception then interference with the foetus at any stage of its foetal existence could be seen as unethical unless one could take the stand that the rules of the ethics do not recognize a right to life. "Even the unborn child is entitled to protection by the law from the moment of its conception”. This is logically perfect, but pragmatically impracticable. On the other hand, at the other end of the scale is the second view, the other extreme stand, namely, life begins only on birth. This creates a dilemma of a different type. One may then argue that if there was no life before birth, then all sorts of legal restrictions and sanctions dealing with the inference of the foetus become unnecessary except to the limited extend of preventing such interference in the interest of the mothers health. On this logic whether or not a mother should be free to abort belongs almost entirely to the category of the individual therapeutic questions. It eases to have any ethical or legal relevance. No country gives absolute choice to the women throughout the period of pregnancy. The fact that during the second or third trimester, almost all countries restrict interference with the foetus except on medical grounds implies that they regard interference with the foetus as deserving of legal condemnation. Such condemnation could only be on the basis that there is some kind of life deserving protection.