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Re: Fetus Abuse - Supreme Court Upholds Lower Court RulingFrom: Harrison Sheld (hsheld@accessnv.com)Wed May 27 14:25:07 1998
Well, it seems that there is a moral dilemma here. On the one hand, we have to cope with maternal behaviors that detrimentally affect viable fetuses, and on the other hand, we have infringement on personal freedoms. Not an easy issue to devine. My problem is that it has been traditional teaching that criminalizing drug abuse has driven patients away from care. This is contentious on at least two counts. First, on an ethical basis, I think a pregnant patient has beneficence based obligations to a viable fetus. So that behavior cannot be condoned. On the second count, the assumption is that all pregnant women who are abusers will continue their undesirable behavior; however, that is an absolute that should not be accepted. Surely some women will stop using during pregnancy, and who knows how much longer thereafer. That is the number we don't have. That is why the initial assumption is suspect. Do all women who are abusers continue using and avoid prenatal care? We need the data. Finally, to this point, respectful persuasion by well-motivated, highly talented, well funded professionals has apparently not changed undesirable abusing behaviors significantly. May be it's time to try a different approach.
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