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Is the 24 week viability limit morally acceptable? - Coggle Diagram
Is the 24 week viability limit morally acceptable?
Religious views
Jewish
Jewish believe that every life is already written within Gods plan and therefore it is against their religion to intervene via medical intervention. They however also believe that every single life has an infinite value. Some Jewish believers will therefore put their religion aside to save precious life. In the views of some Jewish believers every single life should deserve a chance in life and therefore medical intervention should be offered no matter what gestation a baby is born at if they have a chance to live.
Catholics
Catholics believe that every individual has a right to life. They see everyone as a product of God and not a product of chance and therefore have a right to be in the world as they were put here for a reason. They see the viability limit as moral evil. They also claim that no one has the ability to tell which time in gestation has the ability to survive outside of the womb and therefore they should all be given a chance.
Jehovah Witness
Jehovah witnesses accept medical and surgical intervention as they see all life as sacred and therefore will accept medical care to allow a healthy lifestyle. However Jehovah Witnesses will not accept transfusions of whole blood, red and white corpuscles, platelets and plasma as they believe that they must continue their life without having to utilize another creatures blood. Jehovah witnesses also believe that Jehovah (their God) will turn their back on anyone that receives blood. This then concludes that Jehovah Witnesses believe that everyone should be given a right to life no matter what gestation they enter the world however if they need a blood transfusion this would not be allowed within their religion and therefore trying to save very premature babies may be deemed ethically wrong as they wouldn't be able to have all the medical intervention they may require to live a life as healthy as possible
Protestants
Protestants have the same view as the general society. They do however also believe that every child is an individual human from the minute they are born and therefore should be treated with the same dignity and respect as every other human no matter their age. Protestants also believe that every child is their own person and not a property of their parents and therefore parents should not be given the right to chose the path their life takes. When parents are put in a position where they can chose if medical intervention takes place they must take into account their child's future life, their welfare as a whole and the opportunities their life will give them.
I will have completed this part of my research by 05/03/2023
I need to gain extra information around each religion and their views surrounding medical intervention and the certain lengths they are allowed to take within their religion to keep people healthy.
Medical Views
The World Health Organisation (WHO) found that every single year 15 billion babies are born preterm which is before 37 weeks gestation. Preterm births and their complications are one of the most known reasons for deaths among children under the age of 5 however three-quarters of these deaths have been found to be able to be prevented with the current interventions.
Medical intervention can be refused by law up until 23 weeks and 6 days even if the baby is born a few hours before they reach the 24 week viability stage.
The survival rate for babies born at 24 weeks is 60-70%. Babies born before this gestation are not deemed to be viable and therefore the hospitals will not offer any medical intervention as this would be a waste of medical equipment.
Each hospitals nicu will have a different level rating, these levels are based on the medical intervention they have to offer and the gestation they can take a baby from. A level 1 nicu is a unit that offers care for babies born within a well state. A level 2 nicu is a special care nursery which can offer medical intervention to help babies with certain problems such as feeding and breathing issues. Level 3 nicus will provide comprehensive care for the more seriously ill infants and level 4 nicus are for those babies who may need major surgeries, surgical repairs or with serious conditions such as congenital heart diseases.
I will have completed this part of my research by the 10/03/2023
I will research different hospitals in the surrounding areas and look at their nicu levels and when they will intervene. I will also look at the different medical conditions that can be caused by a baby being born too premature.
Ethical Views
Babies have been known to be born breathing before 24 weeks of gestation and therefore why should they be left to die and not offered medical intervention? Some babies born before 24 weeks are born in better condition than babies born at 24 weeks or even later and therefore it is only ethically fair to offer these babies the same treatment as they are in a better state medically.
Babies born before 24 weeks gestation will require a lot of medical intervention and therefore may suffer a lot of pain and trauma. When they are well enough for discharge from the hospital they may also endure a life of pain due to very complex medical needs. These medical needs may also cause the babies to not have a quality of life and therefore it may be deemed ethically wrong to prolong a life that will not have any quality.
I will complete this research by the 02/03/2023
I am going to conduct an interview amongst my friends and family to gather their views around this question and what they think is ethically right
Family Views
Families that have given birth to babies before the 24 weeks gestation will undergo a horrific period of grief as they will feel their child has been left to die.
Research showed that a young women who gave birth to her baby at 21 weeks and 2 days showed that her child was showing signs of life as he cried when born and was breathing completely on his own for 3 hours. During these three hours her child was offered no medical intervention even though the parents pleaded with the hospital staff multiple times. She has then gone on to try make a change that any child born showing signs of life should be offered medical intervention.
A baby who was born before the abortion limit was given CPR by his mother to save his life as no medical intervention was offered. This baby was born at 23 weeks and 4 days after the mother was sent home being told she no longer had any waters surrounding her baby. She went home expecting to miscarry her child however gave birth a few hours later and gave her son CPR to save his life and he is now a healthy, happy two year old.
I will complete this research by the 15/03/2023
I would like to speak with someone i know personally who has undergone a premature birth that unfortunately ended in a loss of life to see how these laws have affected her and her family.