enerbol and Abortion--Spontaneous

The mean age at which women create families in Western society is increasing. This is in spite of the fact that reproduction in later life is subject to various difficulties, such as the lower probability of conception in relation to maternal age, the increase in spontaneous pregnancy loss, and higher obstetric risk. In this review of recent data, we suggest that a fourth effect, the decrease in lifespan of children in relation to the age of conception of the mother, can be added to the list. We discuss this effect in relation to the transmission of the mitochondria exclusively through the female germ line and the effect of age on this organelle. Data from our own studies and the animal literature as a whole suggest that this effect could be due to the transmission of damaged mitochondrial DNA, and further indicate that the effect is more widespread than previously considered.

Topics: Abortion, Spontaneous; Adult; Aging; DNA Damage; DNA, Mitochondrial; Female; Humans; Internationality; Life; Life Expectancy; Longevity; Maternal Age; Middle Aged; Mitochondrial Diseases; Obstetric Labor Complications; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Outcome; Reproduction; Risk Assessment

Topics: Abortion, Spontaneous; AIDS Serodiagnosis; Beginning of Human Life; Bioethical Issues; Ethics, Medical; Euthanasia; Euthanasia, Active; Female; Fertilization in Vitro; Government Regulation; Humans; Life; Moral Obligations; Oocyte Donation; Personhood; Philosophy, Medical; Pregnancy; Pregnant Women; Spermatozoa; Sweden

A scholarly review of medical-legal and biblical authority on the su bject of abortion supports abortion as a woman's right when it is performed before the fetus has had its "breath of life." Based on biblical evidence, a person becomes a living being when the soul, the "breath of life" is breathed into it. Without the "breath of life" no person exists. A fetus less than 28 weeks old is incapable of breathing alone; thus an aborted fetus that age is not truly a living human being capable of surviving independently of its mother's womb. Legal aspects include supreme, local and state court decisions defining abortion. It is ultimately expected that each person will determine what approach to take towards the abortion question. Abortion is still a personal problem regardless of supreme court decisions or ecclesiastical determinants. Religion and moral concepts should be the guiding conscience involved in the question of abortion.

Topics: Abortion, Induced; Abortion, Legal; Abortion, Spontaneous; Beginning of Human Life; Christianity; Ethics, Medical; Female; History, 15th Century; History, 19th Century; History, 20th Century; History, Ancient; Informed Consent; Judaism; Jurisprudence; Legislation, Medical; Life; Personhood; Pregnancy; Pregnant Women; Religion and Medicine; Supreme Court Decisions; Theology; United States

Topics: Abortion, Induced; Abortion, Legal; Abortion, Spontaneous; Beginning of Human Life; Embryonic and Fetal Development; Empathy; Ethics; Fetus; Humans; Intention; Life; Love; Maternal-Fetal Relations; Moral Obligations; Motivation; Philosophy; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Trimesters; Pregnant Women; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; Probability; Reproduction; Social Responsibility; Stress, Psychological; Uncertainty

Topics: Abortion, Induced; Abortion, Spontaneous; Beginning of Human Life; Criminal Law; Embryonic and Fetal Development; Fetal Viability; Fetus; Homicide; Humans; Individuality; Intention; Jurisprudence; Legislation as Topic; Liability, Legal; Life; Motivation; Personhood; Pregnancy; Pregnant Women; Punishment; Reference Standards; State Government; United States; Violence

Topics: Abortion, Induced; Abortion, Spontaneous; Abortion, Therapeutic; Beginning of Human Life; Civil Rights; Contraception; Death; Embryonic and Fetal Development; Female; Humans; Jurisprudence; Legislation as Topic; Liability, Legal; Life; Louisiana; Maternal Welfare; Men; Physicians; Pregnancy; Pregnant Women; Rape; Sex Offenses; Socioeconomic Factors; State Government; Value of Life; Women; Women's Health; Women's Rights

Topics: Abortion, Spontaneous; Beginning of Human Life; Bibliographies as Topic; Embryo Research; Ethics, Medical; Female; Fertilization in Vitro; Humans; Life; Pregnancy; Reproduction; Twinning, Monozygotic; Value of Life

Spontaneous abortion is rarely addressed in moral evaluations of abortion. Indeed, 'abortion' is virtually always taken to mean only induced abortion. After a brief review of medical aspects of spontaneous abortion, I attempt to articulate the moral implications of spontaneous abortion for the two poles of the abortion debate, the strong pro-abortion and the strong anti-abortion positions. I claim that spontaneous abortion has no moral relevance for strict pro-abortion positions but that the high incidence of spontaneous abortion is not (as some claim) eo ipso any sort of justification for voluntarily induced abortion. Secondly, I show that if the strict anti-abortionist position is to be taken seriously in its insistence that prenatal life has a right to be protected by virtue of its being conceived, then it seems necessary to take measures to prevent spontaneous abortion and its presumptive causes, and this as a matter of moral obligation.. Murphy addresses the issue of spontaneous abortion, or miscarriage, and its implications for the pro- and anti-abortion positions. The incidence of spontaneous abortion is high, variously estimated at between 10 and 15 per cent of known pregnancies, and is sometimes used to justify induced abortion. Although Murphy faults this strict identification between natural events and willed human actions, he concludes that spontaneous abortion has no moral significance for pro-abortionists, who base the value of a fetus on considerations other than its status as a potential or actual human being. The anti-abortion position, which views the fetus as an innocent, protectable person from conception, seems to obligate one to try to prevent spontaneous abortion at all stages of pregnancy, regardless of difficulty. Murphy argues that, if his conclusions are true, they render certain anti-abortion premises problematic, since these premises are concerned only with induced abortion.

Topics: Abortion, Spontaneous; Beginning of Human Life; Ethics; Female; Humans; Life; Moral Obligations; Personhood; Philosophy; Pregnancy; Pregnant Women

Topics: Abortion, Spontaneous; Beginning of Human Life; Bioethical Issues; Disclosure; Ethical Theory; Ethics, Medical; Female; Fertility; Genetic Engineering; Humans; Life; Personhood; Pregnancy; Probability; Prognosis; Value of Life

Topics: Abortion, Spontaneous; Beginning of Human Life; Embryo, Mammalian; Female; Humans; Jurisprudence; Life; Personhood; Pregnancy; United States

Topics: Aborted Fetus; Abortion, Induced; Abortion, Spontaneous; Beginning of Human Life; Child; Child, Preschool; Cultural Diversity; Ethical Theory; Ethics, Medical; Female; Fetal Research; Fetus; Human Experimentation; Human Rights; Humans; Legislation, Medical; Life; Morals; Parental Consent; Personhood; Pregnancy; Public Opinion; Research; Risk Assessment; United States

Topics: Abortion, Spontaneous; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Attitude to Death; Beginning of Human Life; Ethics, Medical; Euthanasia; Female; Humans; Life; Male; Middle Aged; Personhood; Physician-Patient Relations; Pregnancy; Suicide; Surgical Procedures, Operative

Topics: Abortion, Spontaneous; Beginning of Human Life; Ethics, Medical; Female; Humans; Life; Personhood; Pregnancy

Topics: Abortion, Induced; Abortion, Spontaneous; Female; Gynecology; Humans; Incidence; Life; Pregnancy