Fetal indication for the termination of pregnancy from an ethical viewpoint

Abstract

The author goes into five ethical problems involved in foetal indication for termination of pregnancy: 1. The method of prenatal diagnosis is considered to be ethically neutral. 2. Arguments and indication for termination of pregnancy in case of foetal indication are critically reviewed. Four degrees of severity are distinguished in the field of prenatal damage. 3. After expounding the arguments for a continuation of pregnancy, the only case in which termination is declared as ethically justifiable is the occurrence of "total malformation" of the foetus (anencephaly). 4. In everyday practice, great importance must be attached to a differentiation between judgement of what can be considered as correct from the viewpoint of morals as tolerated by society on the one hand, and the moral value attached to a concrete action on the other. 5. Termination of pregnancy in case of foetal indication, which has largely become a matter of course, is examined and reflected with regard to its importance for the development of (medical and social) moral awareness.