Ethics
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Decisions about testing and terminating pregnancies can be very difficult and traumatic. New medical technologies create new choices, which bring new responsibilities. This page of the website is about how exploring ethical questions can inform the choices people make in pregnancy.
Having to make a choice is difficult. Many people do not want to have to take the responsibility. Some people may prefer not to think too hard, or to get information. This is understandable. Nobody can force you to investigate the options fully. However, the goal of this website is to provide full and balanced information, to help women and men to make informed decisions, with the hope that this will make it easier to live with the decision at a later date. We believe that if you can think through the options and risks carefully, and come to a considered decision, it may reduce the chance of making a decision which you later regret.
After the decision
Many women and their partners feel a sense of guilt and regret about the termination of an affected pregnancy. They feel like they have done something wrong, even when all they wanted to do was to prevent a greater pain and difficult situation for both the child and themselves. Feelings of anxiety, regret and grief are common. Equally, terminating an affected pregnancy can bring peace and relief to those who wanted to have a child but who felt that having a disabled child would be too difficult for them or their family.
Those who decline testing, or continue pregnancy, may find their lives change dramatically if they have a disabled child. There may be a sense of guilt and regret about having a child who is different from the average, and about the impact on family life. Bringing up a disabled child may create additional problems and difficulties. However, most families cope well with their child, and love and cherish a disabled child just as much as a non-disabled child. Parents of disabled children do not have to be superhuman. There are many examples of ordinary people who rise to the challenge of coping with impairment and disability, and find extra resources within themselves.
Finding guidance
There are no "right answers" to the dilemma of testing or terminating in pregnancy. Religious scripture gives no direct guidance on modern medical technologies. Interpreting moral guidelines is not straightforward. For example, while killing is wrong, there is no agreement on the status of the foetus. If the foetus is a person from conception, then any abortion is wrong. Some faiths beliee this, and prohibit abortion. Other commentators believe that the foetus gradually becomes a person over the course of the pregnancy. Some believe that birth marks the point where the a person with rights exists. But even within faith communities, there are a range of beliefs and practices about abortion.
Some people will find it helpful to talk to family or to friends, or to a minister. Others might prefer to talk to a medical professional or a counsellor who is more detached from them and the situation. Professional advisors should be "non-directive", helping the client make up their own minds. What is right for one person, may not be right for another person. Your decision should be compatible with your own beliefs and feelings. You are the person who will have to live with the decision, and it is your views, not those of other people, which matter. You need to feel comfortable with what you are choosing. Thinking about ethics
Ethics deals with choices that we can live by. Ethics is about moral judgements, and is an expression of attitudes, feelings and preferences about how we ought to live, and what decisions we ought to make. Ethics is not divorced from reason and experience. Ethical decisions are based on a series of principles and moral values that are attached to human actions and conscious thinking.
Philosophers have been arguing about right and wrong for thousands of years. Some philosophers believe that actions are good or bad depending on their consequences. If an action brings about greater overall happiness or fulfilment, then it is preferable to other actions which lead to less happiness or fulfilment. Other philosophers argue that actions are right or wrong in themselves, regardless of circumstance or consequences. They believe that you should not treat others as a means to an end only: you should always treat others as an end in themselves. Modern bioethics often stresses four key principles: the principle of autonomy, meaning that individuals must be able to make their own choices; the principle of beneficence, which is about doing good and acting in the person's best interests; the principle of non-maleficence, in other words to avoid doing harm; and the principle of justice, which is about fairness. But in a particular situation, these principles sometimes conflict with each other, and it is not always easy to decide which is the most important principle to follow.
Ethical values have changed over time, and continue to change. Science, society and philosophy develop, and our perception of the world around us changes, making an impact on how we value and see things. Many of our daily actions and decisions are guided not only by personal feelings, but also by the demands of society and by what other people expect us to do. The most important thing is for you to make up your own mind. Remember, a well informed and well thought-out decision usually begins with sincere personal reflection.
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