4
1. Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo, resulting in or caused by its death. Types of Abortion: Spontaneous abortion (also known as miscarriage) is the expulsion of an embryo or fetus due to accidental trauma or natural causes before approximately the 22nd week of gestation Induced - A pregnancy can be intentionally aborted in many ways. The manner selected depends chiefly upon the gestational age of the embryo or fetus, which increases in size as it ages. Reasons for procuring induced abortions are typically characterized as either therapeutic or elective. An abortion is medically referred to as therapeutic when it is performed to: save the life of the pregnant woman; preserve the woman's physical or mental health; terminate pregnancy that would result in a child born with a congenital disorder that would be fatal or associated with significant morbidity; or selectively reduce the number of fetuses to lessen health risks associated with multiple pregnancy. An abortion is referred to as elective when it is performed at the request of the woman "for reasons other than maternal health or fetal disease." 2. Surrogate Motherhood - practice in which a woman (the surrogate mother) bears a child for a couple unable to produce children in the usual way, usually because the wife is infertile or otherwise unable to undergo pregnancy. In so-called traditional surrogacy, thesurrogate mother is impregnated through artificial insemination with the sperm of the husband. In gestational surrogacy, the wife’s ova and the husband’s sperm are subjected to in vitro fertilization, and the resulting embryo is implanted in the surrogate mother. Normally, in either procedure, the surrogate gives up all parental rights, but this has been subject to legal challenge.

Lizlee bioethics assignment

Embed Size (px)

DESCRIPTION

 

Citation preview

Page 1: Lizlee bioethics assignment

1. Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo, resulting in or caused by its death.

Types of Abortion: Spontaneous abortion (also known as miscarriage) is the expulsion of an

embryo or fetus due to accidental trauma or natural causes before approximately the 22nd week of gestation

Induced - A pregnancy can be intentionally aborted in many ways. The manner selected depends chiefly upon the gestational age of the embryo or fetus, which increases in size as it ages. Reasons for procuring induced abortions are typically characterized as either therapeutic or elective. An abortion is medically referred to as therapeutic when it is performed to: save the life of the pregnant woman; preserve the woman's physical or mental health; terminate pregnancy that would result in a child born with a congenital

disorder that would be fatal or associated with significant morbidity; or selectively reduce the number of fetuses to lessen health risks

associated with multiple pregnancy.

An abortion is referred to as elective when it is performed at the request of the woman "for reasons other than maternal health or fetal disease."

2. Surrogate Motherhood - practice in which a woman (the surrogate mother) bears a child for a couple unable to produce children in the usual way, usually because the wife is infertile or otherwise unable to undergo pregnancy. In so-called traditional surrogacy, thesurrogate mother is impregnated through artificial insemination with the sperm of the husband. In gestational surrogacy, the wife’s ova and the husband’s sperm are subjected to in vitro fertilization, and the resulting embryo is implanted in the surrogate mother. Normally, in either procedure, the surrogate gives up all parental rights, but this has been subject to legal challenge.

3. Female genital cutting or mutilation is any procedure involving the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs "whether for cultural, religious or other non-therapeutic reasons."

4. Sterilization (also spelled sterilisation) is a surgical technique leaving a male or female unable to reproduce. It is a method of birth control. For non-surgical causes of sterility, see infertility.

Common sterilization methods include:

Vasectomy in males. The vasa deferentia, the tubes which connect the testicles to the prostate, are cut and closed. This prevents sperm produced in the testicles from entering the ejaculated semen (which is mostly produced in the seminal vesicles and prostate).

Tubal ligation in females, known popularly as "having one's tubes tied". The Fallopian tubes, which allow the sperm to fertilize the ovum and would carry the fertilized ovum to the uterus, are closed.

Page 2: Lizlee bioethics assignment

Other procedures that result in sterility:

Hysterectomy in females. The uterus is surgically removed, permanently preventing pregnancy and some diseases, such as uterine cancer.

Castration in males. The testicles are surgically removed. This is frequently used for the sterilization of animals, with added effects such as docility, greatly reduced sexual behaviour, and faster weight gain (which is desirable in some cases, for example to accelerate meat production).

5. Organ donation is the removal of the tissues of the human body from a person who has recently died, or from a living donor, for the purpose of transplanting. Organs and tissues are removed in a surgical procedureOrgan plantation is the moving of a organ from one body to another, or from a donor site on the patient's own body, for the purpose of replacing the recipient's damaged or absent organ.

Types: Autograft

Transplant of tissue to the same person. Sometimes this is done with surplus tissue, or tissue that can regenerate, or tissues more desperately needed elsewhere (examples include skin grafts, vein extraction for CABG, etc.) Sometimes an autograft is done to remove the tissue and then treat it or the person, before returning it (examples include stem cell autograft and storing blood in advance of surgery).

Allograft

An allograft is a transplant of an organ or tissue between two genetically non-identical members of the same species. Most human tissue and organ transplants are allografts.

Isograft

A subset of allografts in which organs or tissues are transplanted from a donor to a genetically identical recipient (such as an identical twin). Isografts are differentiated from other types of transplants because while they are anatomically identical to allografts, they don't trigger an immune response.

Xenograft and xenotransplantation

A transplant of organs or tissue from one species to another. An example are porcine heart valve transplants, which are quite common and successful. The latter research study was intended to pave the way for potential human use, if successful. However, xenotransplantion is often an extremely dangerous type of transplant because of the increased risk of non-compatibility, rejection, and disease carried in the tissue. This is a very serious type of transplant.

Split transplants

Sometimes a deceased-donor organ, usually a liver, may be divided between two recipients, especially an adult and a child. This is not usually a preferred option because the transplantation of a whole organ is more successful.

Page 3: Lizlee bioethics assignment

Domino transplants

This operation is usually performed on patients with cystic fibrosis because both lungs need to be replaced and it is a technically easier operation to replace the heart and lungs at the same time. As the recipient's native heart is usually healthy, it can be transplanted into someone else needing a heart transplant. That term is also used for a special form of liver transplant in which the recipient suffers from familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy, a disease where the liver slowly produces a protein that damages other organs.

6. Sex Change Surgery is a term for the surgical procedures by which a person's physical appearance and function of their existing sexual characteristics are altered to resemble that of the other sex.

7. Plastic surgery is a medical specialty concerned with the correction or restoration of form and function. While famous for aesthetic surgery, plastic surgery also includes many types of reconstructive surgery, hand surgery, microsurgery, and the treatment of burns

8. Sexual Deviation a type of mental disorder characterized by a preference for or obsession with unusual sexual practices, as pedophilia, sadomasochism, or exhibitionism.

9. Drug addiction is a dependence on a street drug or a medication. When you're addicted, you may not be able to control your drug use and you may continue using the drug despite the harm it causes. Drug addiction can cause an intense craving for the drug. You may want to quit, but most people find they can't do it on their own.

10. Alcoholism, also known as alcohol dependence, is a disabling addictive disorder. It is characterized by compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcohol despite its negative effects on the drinker's health, relationships, and social standing