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Related Experiment Videos

Why We Should Stop Using the Term "Elective Abortion".

Katie Watson1

  • 1An associate professor of medical social sciences, medical education, and obstetrics and gynecology at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois, where she is also a faculty member in the Medical Humanities and Bioethics Graduate Program.

AMA Journal of Ethics
|December 27, 2018
PubMed
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The term "elective" in abortion care is a moral judgment. All abortions should be considered healthcare, regardless of the reason, to avoid reinforcing harmful social norms.

Area of Science:

  • Medical Ethics
  • Sociology of Health
  • Reproductive Health Policy

Background:

  • The term "elective" in abortion care is frequently used to impose moral judgments, influencing patient access to services.
  • Secular healthcare organizations sometimes differentiate between "therapeutic" and "elective" abortions, inadvertently reinforcing regressive social norms regarding motherhood and female sexuality.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze the impact of using the term "elective" in abortion care.
  • To advocate for a reevaluation of medical terminology in abortion services to ensure equitable patient care.
  • To challenge the use of "elective" as a moral qualifier for abortion procedures.

Main Methods:

  • Critical analysis of medical terminology and its social implications in reproductive healthcare.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Examination of how healthcare organizations' policies on abortion classification reinforce social norms.
  • Review of ethical considerations in patient and physician autonomy regarding abortion decisions.

    • Main Results:

    • The classification of abortions as "elective" or "therapeutic" is often based on moral judgments rather than purely medical criteria.
    • This distinction reinforces regressive social norms concerning women's reproductive choices and sexuality.
    • Women seeking abortions, even those with medical indications, are distinguished by their original desire for motherhood or non-consent to sex (in cases of rape).

    Conclusions:

    • Secular healthcare organizations should cease using "elective" as a moral judgment, reserving its use primarily for billing codes.
    • Recognizing the moral agency of patients and physicians is crucial for ethical abortion care.
    • All abortions should be universally labeled as healthcare, irrespective of the patient's or physician's reasons.