Bioethics quiz (abortion facts)

Zygote

• the single cell organism formed when a sperm cell fertilizes an egg cell

• marks the very first stage of human development

• contains a complete set of chromosomes (46 humans) from both parents

• the zygote immediately begins to divide and develop into multicellular organism

Blastocyst

• stage of early development in humans + all mammals that consist of an inner call mass (which become the embryo) and an outer layer (which becomes the placenta)

Implantation

process in which a blastocyst attaches itself to the wall of uterus

embryo

• early stage of human development that begins after implantation of blastocyst into the uterine wall and lasts through the 8th weeks of gestations

• during this period, the major body structures and organs begin to form, though they are not yet fully developed

fetal stage

the 3rd stage of prenatal development, lasting from 2 months through birth

viability

• ability of the fetus to survive outside the womb, about 21 to 24 weeks with modern technology

Ensoulment

the belief that at one moment, the fetus receives a soul

quickening

• the first feeling of movement of the fetus in utero by the pregnant woman, it usually occurs between 16 and 20 weeks of gestation.

• before the contemporary science of embryology, this was often when many traditions believed ensoulment and personhood began.

abortion

the deliberate termination of a pregnancy

surgical abortion

surgical removal of the contents of the uterus to terminate a pregnancy

medical abortion

a method of abortion using drugs rather than surgery to terminate a pregnancy

direct moral standing

deserves to be given moral consideration “independently of its relation to other things or creatures”

indirect moral standing

to deserve moral consideration only because it is related something with direct moral standing

Roe V. Wade (1973)

The supreme court used the trimester framework to define how states can regulate abortion, essentially legalizing it nationwide within limits. Based on 14th amendment right to due process clause.

Planned parenthood V. Casey (1992)

• states can regulate abortion, but not with regulations that impose “undue burden” upon women, did not overturn Roe V. Wade

• gave states more leeway in regulating abortion (24 hour waiting period, parental consent for minors)

Dobbs v. Jackson women’s health organization

• 2022 landmark decision of the US supreme court in which the court held that the constitution of the united states does not confer a right to abortion

• overturning Roe v. Wade and returning the authority to regulate abortion laws to individual states

John Noonan

Catholic theologian who argued that abortion is wrong on the basis that a human being is created at conception because a full set of genes is present

Don Marquis

• argues that the wrongness of abortion is the same as the wrongness of any killing.

• depriving a person of a potential future like ours (FLO)

Judith Jarvis thomson

a philosopher that wrote a defense of the woman’s choice for an abortion using the though experiment of the famous violinist, this argument emphasizes the bodily autonomy of a woman

Mary Anne Warren

Asserts the 5 traits are central to personhood, any being that satisfies none of these traits is certainly not a person. a fetus satisfies none and therefore is not a person

self-awareness,

reasoning,

communication,

interests,

moral agency

Morning after pill

Emergency contraceptive pill that works by delaying ovulation, preventing fertilization.

conception

when a sperm fertilizes an egg and forms a zygote

personhood

the quality of a living being that makes it morally worthy, usually linked to certain higher capacities

self-awareness,

reasoning,

communication,

interests,

moral agency

interest view

• an ethical principle that moral status is based on interest

• to have moral status is to have rights

medication abortion

• method terminating an established pregnancy using prescribed drugs, a two-step regimen of Mifepristone followed by Misoprostol

• it is approved for use up to 10 weeks after the start of pregnancy (measured from the first day of the last menstrual period)

Aspiration

Most common form of procedural (non-medical) abortion. it can be used to conduct abortion up to 14-16 weeks of gestation. Also commonly used in cases of early pregnancy loss (miscarrige)

Dilation and evacuation abortions (D+E)

• Abortion procedure usually performed after the 14th week of pregnancy

• the cervix is dilated, and the pregnancy tissue is evacuated using forceps or suction