Euthanasia, Abortion and Reproduction

By: Emily Campbell, Maggie Carranza, Emily Baca, Vivanne Delgado, Stephen

Akhterov, Drew Bradford, Nathan Aufenkamp and Yoanna Contreras

Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruled that a woman’s right to privacy based on the Fourteenth Amendment includes the right to an abortion.

“The Court held that, in regard to abortions during the first trimester, the decision must be left to the judgment of the pregnant woman’s doctor. In regard to second trimester pregnancies, states may promote their interests in the mother’s health by regulating abortion procedures related to the health of the mother. Regarding third trimester pregnancies, states may promote their interests in the potentiality of human life by regulating or even prohibiting abortion, except when necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother.”

Pro-life v. Pro-choicePro-life: Advocates stress the value of unborn fetus’ life. Grant more weight to the fetus’ life.

Roman Catholic Church: Denies any and all abortions, even to save a mother’s life.

Some more conservative Protestants justify only abortions used to save a mother’s life, called therapeutic abortions.

Other Christians believe there are “hard cases” in which an abortion may be justified. These hard cases are things like rape, incest, or even severe deformation. (These constitute roughly 7% of abortions in the US)

Pro-choice: Supporter’s emphasize the woman’s right to reproductive freedom. Grant more weight to the woman’s right to self-determination.

Society should make abortions available to any woman who feels they need to make that choice.

Biblical References to Abortion

Psalms 139:13-16, Jeremiah 1:5, and Luke 1:41-44

Sixth Commandment

Exodus 21:22-25

Exodus 21:22-25:

NIV: “22 “If people are fighting and hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely* but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows. 23 But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.”

 

*Or has a miscarriage

AbortionWhat is Abortion?

Abortion is defined as; the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, most often performed during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy.

What makes a women eligible for an abortion?Continuing with the pregnancy involves a greater risk to the physical or mental health of the woman, or her existing children, than having a termination.

What makes these 24 weeks so important, and different?

Babies born at 24 weeks are increasingly likely to survive, and it should therefore not be permitted to abort pregnancies at this stage.

Do most women actually abide by the 24 week rule?

89-92% of all abortions happen during the first trimester, prior to the 13th week of gestation.

In 2011, 7.3% of all abortions occurred between 14-20 weeks' gestation; 1.4% occurred ≥21 weeks' gestation (CDC).

However, many women still participate in third trimester abortions when the baby is almost fully developed.

Basic Positions:

Protestant Christian: Against abortion, except for the event of saving the

life of the mother at cost.

Hard Cases:When a woman is impregnated and the birth is unsafe,

when the fetus already has a terminal or horrifying illness, when raped or taken advantage of, or through incest.

Pro-Choice:Gives a woman the right to choose whether or not

they want to keep their baby.

Pro-Life:Belief that a fetus has the right to live.

Robert Wenberg’s Three Principles of the Right to Life

Actuality Principle: affirms that a human organism has the right to life if and only if it developed some capacity for self-consciousness, personal thought.

Therefore, aborting a fetus or even killing a newborn infant is only accomplishing what effective birth control would do, which is to prevent a consciousness from emerging. Such preventions don’t harm anyone, as there is no one to be harmed. These practices don’t harm persons, but prevent them from coming into existence.

Potentiality: A human organism has the right to life if it has either developed or has the natural capacity for developing self-conscious, personal life.

If a human, or fetus has the potential to live life, they have the right to.

Arguments Against:

Severely retarded have no right to life.

Persons in a deep coma have no right to life.

Species Principle: Every human biologically created by two other humans has a right to life.

This means that every human, baby, fetus, has a right to live because they are naturally human just like every other capacitated or grown adult.

Arguments Against:

Human species greater than all other species.

Deformed, incredibly disabled, or damaged infants that do not have any potential for mental development have a right to life.

Right to Life No Right to Life

Fetuses The irreversibly comatose

Infants

Children

Adults

The reversely Comatose

The severely and less severely mentally handicapped

Just Laws

Can never be one just law requiring a certain behavior in regards to the issue.

Women who are religiously against abortion ARE NOT hurt by Anti-Abortion laws.

Women who, religiously, are allowed to take part in abortions ARE hurt by Anti-Abortion laws.

Worldviews of Pro-Abortionists

Post-modernism

Right of choice

No absolute truth

“What is true for you in morals may not be for me”

Case StudiesAnencephalic Fetus: A 23 year-old wife and mother from a solid Christian marriage learns she is carrying a baby suffering from anencephaly and spina bifida. Anencephaly is a genetic deformation in which the developing fetus has no upper brain and no skull; Spina bifida is a condition in which the spinal column is not covered by skin. Since it has no upper brain, this fetus has absolutely no capacity for self-conscious intellectual life. Its lower brain stem can support breathing for a short time, but it will likely die not long after birth. The doctors say it will not last more than a few days.

Malnourished Mother: A 43 year-old Christian, living in a Third World country, has just lost her husband. She is a mother of six and finds out that she is 2 months pregnant. If she continues with the pregnancy in her weakened condition, she faces a 30% chance of death during delivery. Even if she survives the delivery, her body will be weakened and susceptible to a variety of diseases. She does not have access to the medical resources available in Western hospitals.

What is a human?

The dictionary defines it as; of, relating to, or characteristic of people or human beings.

The Bible defines us as made in the image of God

Is the fetus a human person?

What is a human person?

Application/Discussion

If honor role, star athlete, 14 year old daughter became impregnated and wasn’t sure if she wanted an abortion or not, what would you do?

What is your opinion on women who are raped and then terminate their pregnancy from the rape?

What should be done if a woman is pregnant with a baby who has an excruciatingly painful terminal illness?

Reproduction!

What is corrective genetic engineering?

-Alteration of genetic material by direct intervention in genetic processes with the purpose of producing new substances or improving functions of existing organisms.

When was corrective genetic engineering started?

-Gene therapy was first conceptualized in 1972, with authors urging caution before commencing gene therapy studies on humans. The first FDA- approved gene therapy experiment in the United States occurred in 1991.

-January 2014 about 2000 clinical trials administered

-clinical failures?

What worldview category might this have come from? (then to

now)Worldview came from modernism- "making sense of science and evidence"

-The category of naturalism with in modernism:

naturalism says that all reality is natural, not supernatural.

Also Knowledge is gained through sensory experience and also this reduces the being to biology-

-The category of materialism within modernism:

reality is material made of matter/ energy : there is nothing else- no gods, spirits.

-Then it transitions into postmodernism which continues to accommodate corrective gene engineering to this day...

"I have used the expression "genetically-related conditions" rather than "disability"- or "disorder", "defect", "fault". One of the problems is that expanded biological knowledge can change the application of "disability" or "disease" (Grey, 1996)

What is In Vetro Fertilization?

In vitro fertilization: In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a complex series of procedures used to treat fertility or genetic problems and assist with the conception of a child.

Taking a mature egg and fertilizing it with a sperm and implanting that egg into the uterus

Mother is required to take fertility drugs that may have side effects including: hot flashes, irritability, headaches, restlessness, ovarian hyper-stimulation syndrome (OHSS) dangerous overreaction to drugs, ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy takes place in fallopian tube which can lead to miscarriage, multiple births (depending on how many eggs are implanted into the woman

What is the effect on the baby from In Vitro?

In the largest study to date looking at the connection between IVF procedures and neurological disorders, scientists found a small but significant risk of intellectual disabilities among twins and triplets, though not among singleton births.” (Time.com)

Mental retardation and autism, congenital birth defects

“About 47 in 100,000 infants born from IVF developed cognitive deficits, such as low IQ or problems in communicating or socializing with others, compared with 40 in 100,000 among naturally conceived children.” (Time.com)

““For IVF there are known risks already, such as birth defects and cancer, and now mental retardation should perhaps be added,” says the study’s lead author Sven Sandin of King’s College in London.” (Time.com)

IVF with higher manipulation of sperm were more likely to be associated with higher rates of neurological issues

Transfer of several embryos during a cycle for higher chance has also caused health issues on the mother and the child

“placing embryos in storage for future use” (Clark

Psychological Effects on Parents

IFV and embryo transfer:Surrogate: would she view herself as an incubator for hire, or get emotionally connected to the child?

Maintain emotional distance from child

Be able to surrender the child at birth

Have an impersonal and business like attitude

Effects on donors/Ova banking/Artificial insemination

by donor (AID):

Psychological damage to noncontributing partner

May not feel fully connected to the child since the child does not share their same DNA

Donors do not know whether their genetic offspring exist or not

Child will never know biological kin (Generation Cryo on MTV)

Works Cited

"In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)." Definition. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2015.

"IVF Side Effects and Risks Explained." IVF Side Effects and Risks Explained. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2015.

Sifferlin, Alexandra, and Alexandra Sifferlin. "How Healthy Are IVF Babies? | TIME.com." Time. Time, n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2015.

Clark, David K., and Robert V. Rakestraw. Readings in Christian Ethics. Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker, 1996. Print.

Problems Some Christian Theists Have With AID

God chooses whether people have babies or not; if a couple is childless, it may be God’s will.

God may have chosen these people to devote their lives to other kinds of Christian work.

It goes against “natural law” to create a child in any way other than through sex.

It may replace sex in marriage

A third party is brought into the marriage which is not how God intended a child to be born. Problems may later arise.

Often supports gay marriage by a child only having two mothers or two fathers.

Questions/Application

What are your views on Artificial Insemination?

Do you think that homo-sexual couples should be able to use AID? (artificial insemination with a donor)? Why or why not?

What type of psychological effects do you think a child created from AI or AID would have later on in life?

Alternatives to Technological Procreation

Adoption

Preferred option for couples that cannot have children

Biblical precedence to adoption

 Difficulties of adoption: completing the adoption process, expense surrounding the adoption process, trauma brought on by adoption  

Remaining Child Free

Option now acceptable in society

Devout more time and energy to the Lord’s work

Difficulties of remaining child free: lingering negative attitudes, temptation to live for one’s self of for spouse

Euthanasia

Euthanasia: the act of intending or choosing a painless death to end the agony of someone who suffers from an incurable disease or injury.

Active Euthanasia: directly taking the life of the patient. Passive Euthanasia: acting to avoid prolonging the dying process.

Letting Die: is like Passive Euthanasia but it does not choose death as a means to ends suffering but instead chooses drugs as other means to help people as they

Voluntary Vs. Non-voluntary Consents

Voluntary consent reflects two assumptions:The patient will have her won best interest at heart and would likely protect them.

The patient has a basic right to choose the treatments he/she will receive.

Non-voluntary consent: When a patient is incoherent due either to coma or dementia.

Living wills are permitted by many states to cover non-voluntary cases

Other ConsentsDurable power of attorney: the patient signs over to a trusted individual.

Substituted Judgment: a court gives one person the responsibility to make a decision on behalf of another.

James Rachel’s View: The Radical View

Biological Vs. BiographicalBiological Life: the physical state of being alive.

Biographical Life: The sum of ones aspirations, decisions, activities, projects and human relationships.

Killing and letting dieJames believes that there is no distinction between killing someone directly or letting that person dye.

Situations where we may let people die are morally equivalent to killing them. (For example: when we let them starve in famine situations)

Moreland’s Criticisms of the Radical View

Biological and BiographicalBiographical life is as important as biological life because you would not have biographical life without biological life.

Some ones thoughts and/or decisions (biographical life)on taking their life are not always the best for them.

Killing Letting dieJames argument focuses to much on the action and not the intent of the action.

The significance of this is that the physical action itself cannot be evaluated morally without considering the actor, especially the intention.

The Persistent Vegetative State & Withdrawal of Nutrition and Hydration

PVS: no awareness of self or the surroundingsPVS should be distinguished from brain death and coma.

Brain death: the entire brain is destroyed and irreversible (machines cannot keep the body alive)Coma: an abnormality of brain function

Euthanasia has a naturalism view. Humans are just a biological machine.

Death? Robert Veatch suggests four signs of death:

Failure of heart and lungsSeparation of body and soulBrain deathNeocortical death

Questions/Discussion

What are your thoughts on euthanasia?

If you had an illness that would soon take your life, would you choose to use euthanasia?

The End!