In a contentious Journal of Medical Ethics, the authors compare pregnancy to measles. Considering pregnancy as an illness permits contraception and abortion to be viewed as preventative measures, according to the authors.
Pregnancy Portrayed as a ‘Disease’: Controversial Views Shake Bioethics – What You Need to Know!
The article opens by comparing pregnancy to an abdominal bulge or tumor, downplaying it, and implying medical intervention. The authors claim that pregnancy to measles has self-limiting characteristics, following a predictable trajectory with symptoms that may compromise normal functioning.
The fact that pregnancy is normal and important to human life is overlooked in this comparison. The authors believe that childbirth is so painful that it may lead to a drop in the human population and that gender equality lowers birth rates due to perceived birth problems.
The authors argue that infertility is a social construct driven by the assumption that people should have children. This contradicts the belief that infertility is a physiological problem requiring medical intervention, especially in heterosexual couples of childbearing age.
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Controversial Bioethics: Pregnancy as Illness Sparks Debate on Reproductive Autonomy
The authors argue that treating pregnancy as an illness might make contraception and abortion preventative medicine for women. Pathologizing pregnancy to measles turns reproductive autonomy into a medical necessity, they say.
While readers may immediately ignore these bioethicists’ beliefs, the piece underlines their possible impact on abortion policies. Pregnancy to measles as an illness and the unborn child as a pathogen may challenge medical intervention laws.
This controversial position reflects a growing trend of anti-natalism in philosophy and bioethics, expressing worries about the medicalization of human life. The article’s claims may seem extreme, but radical bioethics have historically changed societal norms, emphasizing the value of such discourse.
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