Bioethics and Beginning of Life Matters
New technologies: A New York hospital is taking steps to offer the nation’s first uterus transplant, a radical experiment that might allow women whose wombs were removed or are defective to bear children. More information click here
In 1959, the United Nations General Assembly declared: “… the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth”. Almost half a century has passed since then and it would not be an exaggeration to state that the rights of the child are being trampled on as never before, especially in the crucial, vulnerable stages after conception. Over the past 50 years, we seem to have lost the ability to discern what is good and what is evil. Protecting the most vulnerable
Pre-natal testing: A new guideline recommending that every pregnant woman, regardless of age, be offered a choice of tests for Down syndrome was published in the January 2007 issue of the journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. Previously, Down syndrome testing hinged on whether a woman was older or younger than 35.
About one in 800 babies has Down syndrome, a condition where having an extra chromosome causes mental retardation, a characteristic broad, flat face and small head and, often, serious heart defects. Group recommends Down syndrome testing
Euthanasia: In the Fall of 2006, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecology called for ‘active euthanasia’ of disabled newborn babies for the overall good of families and to spare parents emotional and financial burden. The doctors highlighted that the newborn might have been aborted if the parents had known earlier the extent of its disabilities and potential suffering. In the UK, a pregnant woman who discovers at 28 weeks that her baby has a serious abnormality can legally have an abortion whereas the parents of a baby born at 24 weeks with the same abnormality have no such option.
