Pregnancy, Birth, and Medicine

Abstract

Pregnancy and birth can be approached from many philosophical angles, including philosophy of law, philosophy of biology, and mereology. Some authors have focused on ethical issues surrounding abortion and assisted reproduction, others have discussed pregnancy in phenomenological terms, and others have used pregnancy and/or birth as a springboard for more theoretical reflections on the nature of selfhood, care, embodiment, and personal identity (see entries on feminist perspectives on reproduction and the family, parenthood and procreation, and the grounds of moral status for discussions of these and related issues). In this article, however, we will focus on pregnancy and birth insofar as they are treated as medical processes and situated within a medical context. This includes not only problems during pregnancy that require medical care and intervention, but also normal pregnancy and birth, which are highly ‘medicalized’ in most developed countries. (The boundary around this topic is necessarily imperfect, since medical, legal, metaphysical, experiential, and other contexts intersect. For instance, one cannot responsibly examine the ethics of treating the fetus as a medical patient without at least considering the legal ramifications of doing so.)

We will begin with a general discussion of pregnancy and childbirth as medicalized processes. We will then move on to three categories of ethical issues: (1) issues arising in the course of obstetrical care for women who are taken to be competent and capable of autonomous decision-making; (2) issues that arise when women are decisionally incompetent or when their right to decisional autonomy is in question; (3) issues concerning the management and communication of reproductive risk.

Citation

(2024). Pregnancy, Birth, and Medicine. In Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Department of Philosophy, Stanford University

• Publication Date: May 17, 2024
• Deposit Date: Aug 5, 2024
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Book Title: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/37949348
• Publisher URL: https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2024/entries/ethics-pregnancy
• Additional Information: Entry in the Summer 2024 edition of the online Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.