Safe abortion? Ethical aspects of the use of the abortion pill RU-486 Cover Image

Bezpieczna aborcja? Etyczne aspekty stosowania pigułki aborcyjnej RU-486
Safe abortion? Ethical aspects of the use of the abortion pill RU-486

Author(s): Andrzej Kobyliński
Subject(s): Philosophy, Ethics / Practical Philosophy
Published by: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego w Warszawie
Keywords: ethics; bioethics; abortion pill RU-486; chemical abortion; medical abortion; human embryo; demographic policy; emergency contraception

Summary/Abstract: The article focuses on ethical aspects of chemical abortion, also known as pharmaceutical or medical abortion. Chemical abortion is typically done using two drugs. The first is mifepristone, also known as RU-486, and the second is misoprostol. The drugs are taken orally over three days, although the abortion itself may take much longer to complete. Mifepristone is an antiprogestin: it works by blocking the pregnancy hormone progesterone. Progesterone is „pro-gestation”, as the name suggests, and makes the nutrients in the uterine lining available to the newly-conceived fetus as it arrives from the fallopian tube. A chemical abortion causes a serious reaction in a woman’s body in order to cause it to interrupt and expel the pregnancy. Global phenomenon of medical abortion opens today a new stage of the public dispute about the beginning of human life and the recognition of the human embryo as the human being from the very moment of the conception.

  • Issue Year: 15/2017
  • Issue No: 4
  • Page Range: 79-89
  • Page Count: 11
  • Language: Polish
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