To understand the place of reproduction in a woman’s life, we must look beyond conception and pregnancy to the responsibilities of motherhood across the lifespan.
The opportunity to make choices about family planning has outpaced our ability to reach consensus on what constitutes the ethical use of new technology.
What is conscience? What is its place in the delivery of health care? What are the responsibilities to patient well-being of those who exercise conscience claims?
In the past, forced sterilizations violated the autonomy of vulnerable women. Today, measures intended to protect such women from the abuses of the past may in fact hamper their autonomy in a different way.
“Difficult” patient-physician encounters have roots in uncertainty about individuals’ trustworthiness, clinicians’ skills and training, and medical science.
AMA J Ethics. 2017;19(4):391-398. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.4.mhst1-1704.