Final Research Paper: The Personhood Amendment (Research Paper Sample)

FINAL RESEARCH PAPER: THE PERSONHOOD AMENDMENT
Name:
Institution:
Instructors:
Course title:
Date:
Introduction
Abortion refers to the medical or surgical termination of a pregnancy. It is argued that a woman has a right over her pregnancy and hence the woman could decide on whether to abort on not. As a result, the woman should not be compelled to give birth when the woman is not able to or does not intend to carry the pregnancy to its full term. For instance, in the United States, women have the right to decide on their destiny regarding pregnancy. It is projected that approximately 14 million chemical abortions take place in the United States every year. However, the issue of performing 4D ultrasound scans on all elective abortion patients has created a great controversy in the United States in the recent years. The 4D ultrasound is utilized in taking the fetus’ images from various angles and thus giving various features of the fetus as well as capturing the movement of the fetus. With this regard, the critics of 4D ultrasounds argue that the procedure is unethical and it could not change a woman’s decision to terminate the pregnancy. On the contrary, the proponents of 4D ultrasounds contend that this procedure is necessary part of informed consent regarding elective abortions. This research paper seeks to critically examine the issue of whether states should require doctors, as a matter of informed consent, to provide 4D ultrasounds for all patients considering elective abortions, before such abortions can be conducted.["American Life League," Abortion, last modified July 26, 2012, /nav/index/heading/OQ/cat/MzQ/id/NjA3OQ/] [Kevin, O’hanlon, "Bill Would Require 4D Ultrasound Images to be posted." JournalStar.com: Government and politics, January 17, 2013. Accessed December 3, 2014. http://journalstar.com/legislature/bill-would-require-d-ultrasound-images-to-be-posted/article_87d9cbd3-d429-5991-a34e-90868f273dbc.html]
Brief history of the 4D ultrasounds
The phenomenon of observing the fetus in the womb before it is born has a short historical pedigree. In fact, until recently, there has been a widespread believe "that the fetus could not be seen”. Additionally, there was a widespread taboo that protected the invisibility of the fetus. In this case it was widely considered a taboo to see the fetus before it is born. However, fetal specimens were occasionally displayed in scientific exhibitions, museums and biology departments. In 1983, a "graduated set of human embryos was a set of attraction at the Chicago World’s Fair." However, there is a distinct difference between the bottled fetuses and today’s familiar fetus as displayed by the 4D ultrasound images on the screens. This is because viewing the bottled fetuses was understood as educational and there was no any claim that such fetuses were self-evident proof of fetal personhood or of proof of "life”. During the historic times, the fetus was believed to be alive simply through its movements as it was felt by the pregnant mother. In addition, the invention as well as the obstetric utilization of the stethoscope facilitated the heartbeat of the fetus to be more audible. However, seeing the images of a living fetus was made possible in the mid-nineteenth-century. The latest development of 4D ultrasound scanning equipments has facilitated the viewing of images of fetuses from various angles. As a result, the images of the fetuses have become common in advertisements, movies and biology texts.[Carol Sanger, "Seeing and Believing: Mandatory Ultrasound and the Path to A Protected Choice," UCLA Law Review, 351(2008): 354, accessed December 3, 2014, url: /url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB8QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fuclalawreview.org%2Fpdf%2F56-2-2.pdf&ei=Lf5-VKyfNInUarjwgNAM&usg=AFQjCNEpKPqWorhbc7oUHbBQTUVgne5qMQ&sig2=z4IfZz_777znB7-gHqDIRQ&bvm=bv.80642063,d.d2s] [Sanger, 351.] [Ibid, 355.]
Functions of abortion
Women could decide to have abortions due to various reasons. The foremost reason as to why women opt for abortion is associated with the responsibilities of parenthood. With this regard, women choose to have abortions when they are too young to carry out the responsibilities associated with parenthood. Similarly, it is also argued that some women are not able to afford rearing the child and therefore decide to have abortions. Moreover, another reason that has been cited or elective abortions is that the pregnancy cloud interferes with studies and therefore interrupting their goals in life. However, it should be noted that some abortions could be conducted due to medical complications associated with the pregnancy including lethal anomalies or unhealthy conditions. Whichever the reason to have an abortion, the issue concerning the use of 4D ultrasounds to provide images of the fetus has created a heated debate in the United States over the recent years.
The Reasons for performing 4D ultrasounds on elective abortions
Ultrasound facilitates technicians to view the fetus inside the womb of the mother. A number of reasons have been given for 4D ultrasounds on patients regarding elective abortions. For instance, according to the report by the National Right to Life Committee the ultrasound images provide a mother with an opportunity of seeing an unborn child in the "real time”. This implies that 4D ultrasound images are necessary for the mother to see the features of the fetus before making any decision on whether to abort or not. Additionally, it is argued that pro-life laws concerning ultrasound oblige the abortion facilities to provide a pregnant woman with the opportunity of viewing an ultrasound image of her fetus before performing an abortion. The four states that require the abortion facilities to perform an ultrasound prior to performing an abortion are Wisconsin, North Carolina, Louisiana and Texas.["Ultrasound Save Lives," Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, (n.d). accessed December 3, 2014, http://static.squarespace.com/static/523601dbe4b0ca787576aa3b/t/52ae05a5e4b0dbce9d211a10/1387136421764/LifeFacts--Ultrasounds+save+lives.pdf] ["State of Abortion in the United States," National Right to Life Committee, Last Modified January, 2014, 22. /uploads/communications/stateofabortion2014.pdf] [Ibid, 22.]
On the other hand, 4D ultrasounds are regarded as one way of assisting the mother to make informed consent for elective abortion. The informed consent law protects the right of a woman to understand the medical risks related to abortion, to be offered with scientifically accurate and nonjudgmental medical facts on the development of the unborn child, and the positive alternative options to abortion before making a decision on abortion. Therefore, the proponents of 4D ultrasounds contend that the 4D ultrasound images of the fetus are among the medical facts that should be disclosed to the mother in order to make informed consent to the decision to abort. This is due to the fact that abortion is a life-affecting and permanent decision. On the positive note, it is argued that providing the 4D ultrasound images of the mothers prior to performing abortions may result in fewer abortions since some mothers may change their decision on seeing the images. Figure 1 below shows that abortion rates have been declining in the United States since 1973.[Ibid, 23.]
Figure 1: the decline in abortion rates in the U.S. since 1973.["Induced Abortions in the United States," Guttmacher.org. Last Modified July 2014, /pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html]
On the contrary, the critics of 4D ultrasound images argue that there is no need of seeing such images when the pregnancy is unwanted and the mother intends to abort. Moreover, mandatory ultrasound is perceived as the use of state power that is both too manipulative and intrusive on the mother. In this case, it is argued that implementing mandatory ultrasound on all elective abortion cases is not only a manipulation of the mother but also intruding the mother’s privacy. In the U.S, the landmark decision by the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade acknowledges the personal right to privacy including the right for a woman to choose whether to have an abortion or not. Furthermore, it is also argued that mandatory ultrasounds unnecessarily burdens women’s ability to make decisions regarding abortion. Furthermore, this compulsory ultrasound interferes with the natural integrity of a body, the privacy and autonomy in decision making. In addition, the critics argue that sonograms (ultrasound images) increases the emotional pain on mother on the already difficulty decision on abortion. It is further argued that the experiences women undergo in ultrasound images cause them psychological and emotional trauma.[Sanger, 360.] [Ellen Camburn, "Doctor-Patient-State Relationship: The Problem with Informed Conesent and State Mandated Ultrasounds Prior to Abortions," 10, no. 3 (2013), 303, accessed December 3, 2014. url: /sites/rutgerspolicyjournal.org/files/CamburnFN.pdf] [Ibid, 360.] [Joanne Young, "4D Ultrasound Bill Gets Public Hearing." JournalStar.com: Government and Politics, March 2, 2013. Accessed December 3, 2014. http://journalstar.com/legislature/d-ultrasound-bill-gets-public-hearing/article_1cd23e89-d81f-53c6-9c4e-ac2690c92ea1.html]
However, it is widely believed that such sonograms can help mothers to preserve their pregnancies rather than aborting the fetuses. In the light of this, anti-abortion groups have pushed for laws that support or make ultrasound as a necessity. For instance, Oklahoma has enacted the law mandating that mothers be provided with ultrasound images of their fetuses as well as detailed descriptions of the fetuses or embryos. This could perhaps help the mothers to change their heart and preserve the...