The Legality and Ethics of the Use of Abortion Pill in Quebec - Essay Sample

Introduction

Abortion is one of the most controversial topics in the contemporary society since it raises both legal and ethical issues around medicine, nursing, or healthcare. In Canada, while abortion has been legal since its decriminalization in 1969, it was just recently in 2015 that Health Canada approved the use of pills to terminate a pregnancy via self- induced abortion. According to an article in the Montreal Gazette by Plante (2017), the government of the province of Quebec announced in 2017 that the abortion pill (Mifegymiso) will be made available to Quebecers. The abortion pill is now available in Quebec. Women will, therefore, be able to self-administer the pill at home but with medical follow up and a doctor's prescription. This type of abortion in which pregnancy is terminated through non-surgical means but by the mother taking an oral pill is referred to as medication or medical abortion. Drawing from both law and bioethics, this paper presents both sides of the issue of medical abortion as regards its practice in Quebec.

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The position taken in the article by Pante (2017) is that the abortion pill will not only enable pregnant women to make an informed decision concerning whether or not to keep their unborn child but also will protect their confidentiality or privacy. Moreover, according to Plante's (2017) article, the abortion pill will offer women benefits and additional options such as avoiding surgery. From a human rights law perspective, this argument about the need for women to have access to abortion pills holds water since both Canadian and international human rights law guarantee women the right to the best possible standards of healthcare. Abortion is a healthcare issue which also has legal or human rights implications. For instance, according to the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, every individual has the right to life, the right to assistance when their life is in peril, and the right to respect for their private life. The Canadian Human Rights Act protects and guarantees these rights for both men and women. Since abortion touches on a woman's private reproductive life, every Canadian woman has the right to have this privacy protected and respected.

The introduction of the abortion pill in Quebec is a step in the right direction since, as is noted in Plante's (2017) article, it will give pregnant women the option to terminate their pregnancies at home thus protecting their privacy. Further, since some complicated pregnancies may endanger the life of the mother, the abortion pill is necessary to save the mother's life and hence preserve her right to assistance. According to Jelinska and Yanow (2018), medical abortion which involves giving women pills to terminate their pregnancies is important as it helps in reducing maternal morbidity and mortality caused by unsafe abortion. Furthermore, as Erdman, Grenon, and Herrison-Wilson (2008) observe, the use of drugs such as pills in the termination of pregnancy has the potential to enhance abortion care in Canada and hence should be encouraged by the government.

Furthermore, the legalization of the use of abortion pills in the termination of pregnancy in Quebec as reflected in the article by Pilante (2017) can be supported by arguments about women's reproductive self-determination, the reproductive autonomy of women, women empowerment, and informed consent. Regarding self-determination, the introduction of an abortion pill in Quebec will help promote the right of pregnant women to determine without any restrictions whether or not to terminate their pregnancies. According to Uberoi and Bruyn (2013), under the domestic and international human rights law, states have a responsibility to fulfill, protect, and promote the right to health and this includes prenatal and maternal health. Thus, a state low or policy permitting women to use abortion pills helps promote their right to determine their reproductive autonomy. According to Hewson (2001), based on the legal concept of reproductive autonomy, medication abortion is justified not only because it represents respect for a woman's freedom to refuse invasive treatment but isa also a way the society appreciates that women have the right to choose and make informed decisions regarding their reproductive health. Providing women with an unrestricted access to abortion pills as is the case in Quebec is also a way of promoting women empowerment to make their own decisions and give informed consent to particular medication that is in their best interests. According to Dunn and Cook (2014), the availability of abortion pills in Canada will not only ensure safe abortions but also optimize the Canadian women's health, shorten waitlists for surgical abortions, promote early abortion, and enhance access to abortion services, especially to the socio-economically disadvantaged populations.

However, the main argument against the position taken in the article by Plante (2017) regarding the introduction of abortion pills in Quebec is that it raises serious bioethical and legal issues and dilemmas, such as respect for the right to life of the fetus, justice, beneficence, and non-maleficence, and truly informed consent. Allowing women to use abortion pills to terminate their pregnancies also pose professional ethical dilemmas to nurses and other healthcare professionals as this practice may at times conflict with their professional-legal duties. According to Patil, Dode, and Ahirrao (2014), where medical abortion goes wrong and causes harm to a patient, the bioethical principles of justice, nonmaleficence, and beneficence are violated thus putting medical doctors responsible for prescribing the pills in awkward positions. Moreover, permitting women to take abortion pills to terminate their pregnancies violates the fetus or embryo's right to life. As reflected in the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, every human being has an inherent right to life. Even though the question of whether life begins at conception or not is an unresolved one, there is some consensus that medical abortion destroys the embryo and denies it a future value of life which every human is entitled to.

Additionally, permitting women in Quebec to use abortion pills in the termination of their pregnancies goes against nurses' ethical responsibilities since abortion is a public health issue which also implicates the nursing profession and nurses in particular. Under the Quebec Code of Ethics of Nurses, one of the values of the nursing profession is respect for the client. This value transcends to respect for life, the right to make informed choices, and privacy. When nursed and physicians prescribe the abortion pill, they violate their ethical duty to respect the life of the fetus carried by the pregnant woman. Furthermore, medical abortion raises legal issue surrounding consent and role of medical practitioners as provided for under the Act Respecting Health and Social Services and the Nurses Act. This may be the case in situations where the abortion pill results in complications that have to be handled by nurses and doctors, hence section 5 of the Act Respecting Health and Social Services which guarantee every person the right to receive safe health services.

Conclusion

In Summary, therefore, permitting women in Quebec, Canada, to have access to free abortion pills will help promote the reproductive health of women by reducing mortalities from unsafe surgical abortions. Moreover, medical abortion using abortion pills will give Canadian women more autonomy over their reproductive lives and enable them to make informed decisions and choices concerning their health. Also, since the pills can be taken at home, women will have more privacy in procuring an abortion. However, despite the fact that abortion is a right of every woman and has been legal since 1969, the introduction of the abortion pill in Quebec has legal and bioethical implications for the Province's healthcare system. Legalizing medical abortion raises ethical and legal issues such as respect for human life and the ethical duty of healthcare professionals to promote the health and safety of patients.

References

Dunn, S., & Cook, R. (2014). Medical abortion in Canada Behind the times. CMAJ, 186 (1), 13-14.

Erdman, J.N., Grenon, A., & Herrison-Wilson, L. (2008). Medication abortion in Canada: A right-to-health perspective. American Journal of Public Health, 98(10), 1764-1769.

Hewson, B. (2001). Reproductive autonomy and the ethics of abortion. Journal of Medical Ethics 2001, 27, 11-14.

Jelinska, K., & Yanow, S. (2018). Putting abortion pills into women's hands: realizing the fullpotential of medical abortion. Contraception, 97, 86-89.

Patil, A.B., Dode, P., & Ahirrao, A. (2014). Medical ethics in abortion. Indian Journal of Clinical Practice, 26(6), 543-548.

Plante, C. (2017). Abortion pill will be available in Quebec as of Dec. 15. Montreal Gazette. Retrieved from https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/abortion-pill-will-be-available-in-Quebec-as-of-Dec-15.

Uberoi, D., & Bruyn, M. (2013). Human rights versus legal control over women's reproductiveself-determination. Health and Human Rights, 15 (1). Retrieved from https://www.hhrjournal.org/2013/10/human-rights-versus-legal-control-over-womens-reproductive-self-determination/.