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Discussion 10 to Reflections on Ethics 36
A Doctor's View of Abortion

by Margarita Carrión

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I agree with the idea that discussions on abortion do not necessarily need to to be lead by religion. I feel disgusted about the idea of eliminating a life voluntarily. If a fetus is not a baby, it certainly is a viable human being. Now, the exact moment of when a conception leads to a new life is another debate entirely.

Personally, I don’t know what I would answer to a scared teenager if she asked me to perform an abortion on her, I hope the situation never comes. But it is a very real situation and it happens everyday.

I think a teenager is responsible for her acts, and the life she is carrying shouldn’t have to pay for her mistakes. But that girl doesn’t want to have that child, she probably can’t afford to have it, and maybe she won’t even love it. That isn’t fair for either of them.

The thing is, here in Ecuador , abortion is illegal, and most of those unwanted pregnancies end up in a dirty examining room where the procedure is done under unhygienic circumstances. This is a very common (and risky) solution, since most of those girls end up in the emergency rooms of social security hospitals with disseminated infections of the uterus and sometimes perforation. Some of those girls will never be able to bear children again.

So, for me, the decision would be very difficult. I think all of these circumstances should be kept in mind before condemning a girl for wanting an abortion, or applauding her for not having one.