Preview

Should a Pregnanat Woman Be Punished for Exposing Her Fetus to Risk?

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1077 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Should a Pregnanat Woman Be Punished for Exposing Her Fetus to Risk?
Should a pregnant woman be punished for exposing her fetus to risk? The question about whether pregnant women are liable for subjecting their unborn children to risk has yet to be properly addressed. One state South Carolina has been on the forefront of this issue. The Supreme Court in South Carolina in 1997 in the case Whitner vs. South Carolina decided that pregnant women who exposed their viable fetuses may be persecuted under the state child abuse laws. This action was specifically targeting women who use illegal drugs during pregnancy. Since this decision, other states like Arizona and Florida are following suit. In South Carolina, the Medical University of South Carolina Hospital routinely tested the urine of pregnant women for drugs without their consent. This has been a contentious issue as opponents complain that the privacy of women is violated. The very act of randomly checking the urine of pregnant women without their consent violates the constitutional right to privacy of these women. Opponents of the decision to persecute pregnant women who exposes their fetuses to risk outlined several issues with this decision. Firstly, they believe that there is a number of ethical problems with prosecuting these women. According to them, this can have the opposite effect intended. These women because of their drugs and alcohol issues will avoid doctors out of fear of jail and both they and their babies will be in greater danger from a wide range of medical problems. Secondly, there is a problem with the prospect of these women losing the ability to trust their healthcare providers as doctors are forced to move from treatment to punishment as a solution to addiction. Thirdly, it is believed that because these women are persecuted, some addicts might seek late-term abortions rather than deliver a baby with signs of drug abuse. One question that has not been answered is whether women subjecting their children to increased risk of multiple births as a


References: Abuse Laws Cover Fetus, a High Court Rules--Tamar Lewin. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.uiowa.edu/~030116/116/articles/lewin.htm Abuse: What Legal Status Should ... (n.d.). Retrieved from http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/phil/blphil_ethbio_fetalabuse.htm Levine, C., (2010). Clashing views on Bioethical Issues. 13e. McGraw Hill Bioethics - Drug Use & Fetal Should Pregnant Women Be Punished for Exposing Fetuses to ... (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/78359/should_pregnant_women_be_punished_for.html Whitner v. South Carolina Fact Sheet. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.advocatesforpregnantwomen.org/facts/whitner.htm Prosecutors Focusing on Pregnant Women. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.jointogether.org/news/headlines/inthenews/2003/prosecutors-focusing-on-women.html
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Phi 103 Informal Logic Final
    • 1641 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Phi 103 Informal Logic Final

    “Medical conditions can arise during pregnancy that may pose a danger to the mother's life. Some of these conditions may result from the pregnancy itself, while others may be medical problems that require immediate treatment that cannot be done while pregnant. For example, if aggressive cancer is discovered during pregnancy, it may be necessary to treat the cancer immediately, posing a danger to the fetus. Some women may opt for abortion in order to receive treatment that could save the woman's life. Continuing the pregnancy in some…

    • 1641 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Gonzales V. Carhart Case Study
    • 1802 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Gonzales V. Carhart Case Study

    As a reflection, the Gonzales v. Carhart case in 2007 had a significant impact on the way abortions were performed. It established the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act which prevented D&E procedures, the dilation of a woman’s cervix followed by the extraction of the unborn child. (Kennedy 2) All doctors that knowingly performed the procedure were punished through the form of jail time or their license being revoked (Kennedy 8) since this was looked upon as inhumane. Also, making abortions illegal directly violates women’s human rights according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The document states that slavery and servitude is a violation of the rights (UN General Assembly 1948), so the denial of abortions violates women’s human rights because their bodies are slaves to the government and they have to serve the government with their body, meaning continuing with an unwanted pregnancy. The document also states that everyone should feel secure and when this is not the case for the women that attempt to be an abortion; they fear for their life. Nevertheless, legalizing abortions is the best choice for the nation because it comes with benefits. Sadly, before abortions, they were many births that resulted in children being sent to orphanages since…

    • 1802 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    PHL 292 - Exam 1 Study Guide
    • 2595 Words
    • 11 Pages

    PHL 292 - Exam 1 Study Guide

    In all cases of pregnancy, regardless of the circumstances, the rights of the fetus outweigh the mother’s rights…

    • 2595 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    HSM 542 Week 3 Assignment
    • 637 Words
    • 3 Pages

    HSM 542 Week 3 Assignment

    In some ethical and legal respects a pregnant woman and her fetus can be considered separate. Both the woman and the fetus are ordinarily affected by the well-being of one another for as long as each of them live. The ethical and legal issues are challenged deeply in cases where the well-being of the fetus and the mother appear to be in conflict. Our society struggles with identifying cases where the pregnant woman’s interests and/or behaviors might put her fetus at risk. Criminal and/or civil commitments should be used to bar pregnant women from exposing their fetuses to risk.…

    • 637 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Checkpoint: Identifying Fallacies, Exercise 6-6
    • 882 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Checkpoint: Identifying Fallacies, Exercise 6-6

    fertility drugs as the moral equivalent of abortion, and, if they have, why they haven’t come out against them, too. The use of these drugs frequently results in multiple births, which leads to the death of one of the infants, often after an agonizing struggle for survival. According to the rules of the pro-lifers, isn’t this murder?” — North-State Record…

    • 882 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Crj 202 Research Paper
    • 2247 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Crj 202 Research Paper

    Congdon, Patricia (2011). Prenatal Prosecution: Taking A Stand For The State and Well-Being Of Its Soon To Be Citizens. Charleston Law Review. 5 CHARLR 621. Retrieved 10 March 2012, from Westlaw Campus database.…

    • 2247 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Pomeroy's Argumentative Analysis
    • 727 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Pomeroy's Argumentative Analysis

    After about nine months of seasickness and cravings, women have the power to bring life into this Earth. When women are not in the position to give birth during the late stage of their pregnancy, they usually have only two possible outcomes. In these cases, the decision should depend on what the family and the mother find best. The government should not intervene and choose for the mother as they most likely will not know the best option for the two. As the female population progresses and receives additional rights that will lead to equality, they are still restrained from making a choice for their own child that does not require assistance from authority on the sensitive convoluted topic. The fact that a late term abortion is required implies…

    • 727 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Medical Bioethical
    • 328 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Medical Bioethical

    I was very shocked to read this newspaper article about this poor woman and everything she went thru for the state of medical and media views of her baby. This is a good view on medical ethics. I hope it doesn’t happen to another woman. We have the right to do what we will with our bodies and the state or hospital can’t force us to anything. I hope I covered everything in my paper. My paper is a bioethical and legal I believe. Thank…

    • 328 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Pros And Cons: The Legalization Of Abortion
    • 334 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Pros And Cons: The Legalization Of Abortion

    Secondly, according to Daniel R. Mishell, Jr., MD – Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Southern California –, women were employing “coat hangers or knitting needles or radiator flush to induce abortions”, before professionally-performed abortions were legalized in 1976 (Morrison, par. 7). Indeed, while 39 maternal deaths from illegal abortions were reported in the United States through 1972, abortion-related deaths declined to two by 1976. However, according to The World Health Organization, unsafe “abortions induce nearly 68,000 women deaths worldwide each year”, mainly in emergent countries, since professional services are practically inaccessible and abortions are socially not accepted due to misconceptions…

    • 334 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Should drug addicted mothers be sterilized ?
    • 2473 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Should drug addicted mothers be sterilized ?

    Giving birth is a woman’s inherent right and nobody can take this right away from her, whatever the circumstances. This is not just a general statement. The violation of inherent human rights and the protection of social groups in danger are two topics that are widely discussed repeatedly in the treaties of international laws of human rights. Why does a drug-addicted mother look up to these rights when she seeks for protection against violation of her rights? This is because she is promised the right to family, privacy, social security, the right to exercise her rights and her consent in any sort of decision that affects her. The declaration of these rights can be traced back to the international community, UN General Assembly, which vowed never to let an atrocity like the deathly Second World War arise again. This resulted in the documentation of Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which is a common standard of achievement for all nations and it secures the rights and dignity of the people in every nation. It is…

    • 2473 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Pro Choice
    • 1171 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Pro Choice

    Cagan 1 Erica Cagan ENC1103.036/Prof. Bieze December 2, 2011 Word Count: 1147 Her Choice If a woman doesn’t have control over her own body, than does she have any control at all? Abortion has fostered one of the most controversial, contentious and ethical debates in the United States. People divide themselves into two groups: pro-life and pro-choice. Pro-life argues that abortion is murder, and the mother has no right to take the life of a potential child. Prochoice “ refers to the political and ethical view that a woman should have complete right over her fertility and that she should have the freedom to decide whether she wants to continue or terminate her pregnancy” (Bose). In 1973, the Supreme Court made it possible for woman to obtain a legal abortion from well-trained medical surgeons which was a giant step forward for women’s rights (Pomeroy). Undertaking an abortion is a woman’s choice and any proposal to take away this autonomy not only violates a woman’s civil rights but would also cause many more problems in regards to a woman’s health. A woman’s autonomy is the one thing no one should be able to take away from her. Abortion is an extremely private matter that the government has no right to interfere in. If the civil rights of a person entitles him or her to not have unwanted infringements by the government and the government tells a woman that she cannot have an abortion, then is this not a violation of civil rights? Without abortion, woman would be condemned into pregnancy which “forces them into submissive roles in society” (Pomeroy). Pregnancy denounces women to “second class citizenship, since in our society, mothers are second class citizens. Once a woman becomes a…

    • 1171 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Abortion Opposing Viewpoints
    • 602 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Abortion Opposing Viewpoints

    Opposing Viewpoints Online Context defines abortion as a medical and surgical procedure that ends during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy. Abortion became legal in the U.S Supreme Court in the year of 1973 because it is now considered “safe”. The reason it is considered safe because of modern medicine and more modern surgical tools (Abortion Facts). Many women have reported to have an abortion due to domestic violence, financial problems, and being raped. Even though the U.S. Supreme court considers abortion “safe”, there are many complications that comes with abortion. Some complications that comes with abortion include fever, minor infections, bleeding, chronic abdominal pain, and vomiting (Abortion Facts). The women who want to have an abortion…

    • 602 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Abortion: a Woman's Choice
    • 2689 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Abortion: a Woman's Choice

    The controversial debate over abortion laws has been the focus of much political and societal attention over the past century. The term “pro-choice” outlines the belief that a women should have the right to control her own body, and in turn, the right to an induced abortion. The main concern of pro-life supporters is for the health of the unborn fetus in the woman’s womb, regarding it as an individual with rights to life, and that abortion is an extreme violation of these rights. However, this standpoint is extremely flawed. The majority of all abortions take place within the first trimester, while the fetus is attached to the mother through the placenta and umbilical cord, and is completely dependent on her health. At this stage in the pregnancy, a fetus cannot be regarded as an individual entity with rights and reasons. Reflecting the evolving perceptions and moral standards of society, the procedure involving the removal of a fertilized egg from a woman’s cervix has become a topic regarding much social stigma in Western societies. Despite the debate and controversy over this medical treatment, it is crucial that women in contemporary society have access to abortions and the right to choose, specifically because of the imminent dangers in illegal abortion clinics, instances such as rape or incest, and especially the basic human rights that the female population is entitled to. The implications of abortion laws cannot be regarded as insignificant in modern society, and the importance of their abolishment correlates directly with the emotional, physical, and psychological well being of would-be mothers.…

    • 2689 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Drug Testing Policy Summary
    • 925 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Drug Testing Policy Summary

    During the fall of 1988, staff members of a public hospital located in the city of Charleston by the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) became concerned by “an apparent increase in the use of cocaine by patients who were receiving prenatal treatment.” (Samaha, 2012, p. 252) In response to the increasing number, in April of 1989, MUSC instituted a drug testing policy. Women who came into MUSC that presented suspicion of drug use were subjected to the drug screenings. If the tests were positive, it was reported to police and the women were subsequently arrested. MUSC worked in conjunction with the Solicitor for Charleston in the prosecution of mothers whose children tested positive for drugs at birth.…

    • 925 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    New Pill Old Headaches
    • 903 Words
    • 4 Pages

    New Pill Old Headaches

    Unsafe abortion is a growing issue that does extreme damage to women’s health. “Every year, about 19–20 million abortions are done by individuals without the requisite skills, or in environments below minimum medical standards, or both.”. (Grimes et al. 1) How harmful is unsafe…

    • 903 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics