Current ethical dilemmas in obstetrical practice and some suggestions regarding how to resolve them

Abstract

As new ethical conundrums arise in obstetrics, providers are ever-increasingly challenged with having to know the best means of resolving these problems since Roe v. Wade was overturned. New ethical challenges have arisen, for example, as to how clinicians should respond when patients would need to travel to another state to get an abortion. A second illustrative example involves minors. In some states in the U.S., these patients legally can request permission from a judge to have an abortion without their having to tell their parents. If these adolescents don’t know this, providers must decide whether they should take initiative to inform them of this possibility and if so, when. This question is still more challenging when these patients, too, live in a state that does not allow them the option of abortion. Providers confronted with ethical problems such as those above may struggle to determine how to best resolve these dilemmas. This piece will review some key and especially more subtle, ethical approaches that providers may face to better resolve them. Initially, I will highlight approaches to resolving ethical outcomes that providers may not know or may overlook. These will include how providers may best apply both core ethical principles and an additional, adjunctive framework, known as the care perspective or ethics of care. I will provide specific examples to illustrate each