"The deliberate
termination of a
human pregnancy,
most often
performed during the
first 28 weeks of
pregnancy"
This is the way
in which many
members of the
public define
abortion
Notice how this
defintion is
worded so that
it does not
mention death
"The killing
of an unborn
baby"
This is the
clinical
definition
of Abortion
Notice how
the word
"killing" is
used in this
definition
Law
The law legalising
abortion in the UK
was passed in
1967 although this
did not include
Northern Ireland.
In order for a woman to be
granted an abortion her case
must have been approved by
two doctors, both of whom
have to sign a form to permit
for the abortion to take place.
In Britain the law
states the a
woman can
access an
abortion if:
1. The woman's life
is at greater risk by
continuing the
pregnancy than
terminating it.
2. The termination is
necessary to prevent
permanent injury to the
woman's physical or
mental health.
3. There is a
reasonable risk that if
the child were born it
would suffer from
serious physical or
mental handicaps
4. There is a
reasonable risk that if
the child were born, any
existing children the
woman has are more
likely to suffer injury to
their physical or mental
health.
Methods
In the UK abortion
is legal. These are
types of abortion
available to women
living in the UK,
under the NHS:
1. Early Medical Abortion
is one method in which the
woman takes two doses of
medicine, with a 48 hour
gap. These medicines will
cause the lining of the
womb along with the
fetus to come out as a
normal period would.
2. Suction
Termination is a
method of abortion in
which a suction tube
is insertied into the
womb and would
remove the fetus
and lining of the
womb by suction.
3. Late medical abortion is a
form of abortion by which the
woman must take several doses
of a medicine called
Prostaglandin. This will cause
the placenta to be expelled from
the body. This form of abortion is
similar to Early Medical Abortion
but takes longer and requires
more doses of medicine as the
fetus will have grown larger.
4. Late Abortion is
usually carried out
between 20-24
weeks and there are
two methods by
which this type of
abortion can be
performed.
1. Surgical Two-Stage Abortion is a
method of abortion broken into two
stages, as the name implies. the first
stage involves the termination of the
fetus' heartbeat and then stage two is
a form of surgery to remove the dead
fetus and lining of the womb.
2. Medically Induced
Abortion is one method
where medicine is injected
into the womb causing it to
contract. This method
involves the woman giving
birth to the dead fetus.
Groups
Pro-Life and Pro-choice
are two groups which
have very different views
on the subject of
abortion and are very
passionate about their
views.
Pro-life
Members of the
Pro-life group
belive that abortion
is wrong and so
strongly
discourage it
Pro-life believe that the current
UK laws on abortion are not
strong enough and that the
"current policies are deeply
harmful, not only to the
individuals concerned, but to the
common good of society."
Pro-choice
Members of the Pro-choice
group believe that women
have the right to decide
whether or not they should
have an abortion. Pro-choice
neither encourages nor
discourages abortion but
merely wants to give women
the freedom to choose.
The Pro-Choice website
clearly states the three main
options available to pregnant
women which are abortion,
adoption and parenthood.
The website promotes all of
these options and provides
links for help in each of the
options.
Euthanasia
Definition
"the painless killing of
a patient suffering
from an incurable and
painful disease or in
an irreversible coma"
These are
the four main
types of
euthanasia:
Non-voluntary Euthanasia is
when another person makes the
decision to end someone's life
e.g. switching off a life support
machine. This occurs when the
person is for some reason unable
to give their consent
Voluntary Euthanasia
is when someone has
asked for help in
ending their own life
from e.g. a doctor.
Passive Euthanasia
is when someone
refuses treatment
that could save or
prolong their lives
therefore hastening
their death.
Active Euthanasia is when
someone deliberately ends
someone's life on their request
by giving them a lethal
medicine to end their life
painlessly
Law
Under British law
Euthanasia is
considered illegal,
with the maximum
penalty being life
imprisonment.
There are only 3
countries in the
world where
Euthanasia is legal
and they are the
Netherlands, Belgium
and Luxemborg.
Many people travel to
these countries from
across the globe to be
euthanized, as
Euthanasia may be
illegal in their country.
When the family
members of those who
have been Euthanized
return to their own
countries they may face
imprisonment for assiting
in euthanasia
In countries where
Euthanasia is legal, the
law states that all of the
fowolling criteria must be
fulfilled for the Euthanasia
to be legal:
The patients
suffering is
unbearable
and there is no
prospect of
improvement
The patients
request for
Euthanasia
must be
voluntary
The patient must be over
the age of 12
Patients
between the age
of 12 and 16
require a parent's
permission
The patients must be
fully aware of their
options and their
condition before making
an excecutive decision
At least one other
doctor must agree
that all the criteria
are filled and that
the patient is eligible
for Euthanasia
The Euthanasia
must be carried out
with at least one
doctor present under
medical conditions
DIGNITAS
DIGNITAS is a group
based in Swizerland
that provides those
without quality of life
with the chance to
end their life
painlessly.
The DIGNITAS
motto is "To
live with
dignity. To die
with dignity"
People and their
family members
travel from all
across the globe to
be euthanized by the
DIGNITAS group.
The DIGNITAS website
states that in order for a
patient to be viable for
Euthanasia they must
either have a terminal
ilness, an incurable
incapacitating disability or
be in unbearable and
uncontrollable pain.
At DIGNITAS the method of
Euthanasia used is Medical
Euthanasia as the medicine can
be administerred with family
members and a doctor in the
room at the time. This type of
death is also very peaceful as it
is painless and occurs when to
patient is unconscious.
Methods
These are the main
methods of voluntary
euthanasia used in
countries where it is
legal to euthanize
patients :
The method used most
commonly in the Netherlands is
Euthanasia by injection. There
are two injections involved.
The first puts the patient into a
coma so they cannot feel any pain
and the second stops their heart
from beating.
The peaceful pill
is a method by
which patients
inhale lethal
carbon monoxide
resulting in their
death.
Medical Euthanasia is when the
patient is given a dose of lethal
medicine which can be drunk as
a drink or simply consumed as
tablets. The patients will then
become unconscious and die
painlessly in their sleep.
Other
The sancity of life is
a very controversial
issue and there are
many different
viewpoints about the
matter.
The very fact that in
the UK there is no
death penalty shows
that on the whole
Britain does value
human life somewhat.