A Bioethical Perspective on Oklahoma ’s New Abortion Law

The percentage of college educated Americans who support legal abortion seems to have reached a new low among women under thirtyand among the population as a whole,  so it should be no surprise thatstates are passing lawsto restrict safe abortions. Before performing any abortionOklahoma ’s new 2010 law requires that the doctor do an ultrasound and describe to the woman the dimensions and gestational age of the embryo, cardiac activity if any, and appearance of external and internal structures.  A vaginal transducer must be used when doing so will display the embryo more clearly than an abdominal transducer.  Oklahoma ’s law thus requires doctors to perform an ultrasound that is not medically indicated and likely to be invasive. In this era of skyrocketing medical costs and overutilization of services the new law mandates more of the same while leaving the burden of payment to the women themselves.U.S. law requires that informed consent be obtained for treatments and diagnostic tests. This means that accurate and relevant information must be disclosed to patients. If current standards of disclosure and informed consent apply then the description of the fetus must include evidence about embryologyincluding clinical and scientific uncertainty about when consciousness, thoughts, sensations, and life begin. This is more than some of theother commentators who are in favor of the laware advocating. Providing abortion without truthful disclosure and informed consen...
Source: Women's Bioethics Blog - Category: Medical Ethics Tags: abortion gestational age informed consent oklahoma abortion law vaginal transducer Source Type: blogs