Abortion is a topic that may be asked about in an ethics station during an MMI. The interviewers may ask you to discuss arguments for and against the use of abortion or laws relating to abortion, so it’s important to be informed of the potential arguments on both sides and be prepared to answer the question in an objective sensitive manner.
This guide will explain the basics of the topic and provide an example of how you could approach a question about abortion in your interviews.
Written by Sharon Daniel
Abortion - Understanding the Basics
Abortion is a term used to describe the medical process of ending a pregnancy, so it doesn’t result in the birth of a baby. Abortions can either be done via surgery or medically using pills.
Types of Abortion
Surgical abortion
- < 14 weeks of pregnancy – vacuum or suction methods
- >14 weeks of pregnancy – dilatation and evacuation
Medical abortion
- 2 pills are taken 24 to 48 hours apart.
- Use within 10 weeks of pregnancy.
- 2 pills are taken 24 to 48 hours apart.
Roe vs Wade
One of the biggest global cases relating to abortion was the Roe vs Wade case in the USA in 1973. At the time the state of Texas didn’t allow abortion. Even though Roe said she’d been raped, she wasn’t allowed an abortion plea. Four years after this, the case made it to the Supreme Court. This case resulted in abortions being legal in the USA in the first three months of pregnancy.
However, in June of 2022, this ruling was overturned, making abortion no longer legal by default. This meant that individual states now had the option to ban abortions or keep them legal. At the time of writing, abortion is illegal in some form in 25 states, including Texas, Florida and Idaho.
Since the case was overruled, there has been an influx of patients travelling to legal states to seek their treatment. This has put a strain on abortion clinics in states bordering no-abortion states and has forced many to take long, sometimes dangerous journeys, especially those from Southern Eastern states.
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Abortion In The UK
Within the UK, the Abortion Act (1967) allowed legal abortion in the UK on some grounds and free provision on the NHS. Following this, the Abortion Act of 1976 permitted abortion at any time if there is risk of handicap to foetus or to prevent injury (either physical or mental) to the mother.
The Abortion Regulations 2020 speculates the conditions for termination of pregnancy which includes:
- Any time prior to 12 weeks of pregnancy
- Any time up to 24 weeks if continuing the pregnancy may cause mental or physical harm to the woman that is a larger risk than ending the pregnancy.
- After 24 weeks if there is significant impairment to the foetus or if death is likely to occur before, during or after birth.
Two doctors need to agree on the above points before abortion is allowed. However, if somebody uses abortion pills that they bought online, they won’t be prosecuted, and medical professionals do not have a duty to report their patients’ use of abortion pills.
Father’s Rights In Abortion
There are also rules about the father’s rights in relation to abortion as shown in the Paton vs British Pregnancy Advisory Service case in 1978. The husband didn’t want his wife to have an abortion, but the courts ruled that the husband didn’t have a case and he wasn’t allowed to stop the abortion.
In relation to this, we can discuss arguments related for and against the father having a say in the abortion:
Arguments for the father having a say.
- The father has autonomy to decide as the baby shares half the genetics.
- According to the principle beneficence, the kindest thing to do would be to save the baby.
- According to the principle of non-maleficence, there may be a negative mental impact on the father if a child is aborted against his wishes.
Arguments against the father having a say.
- The mother has autonomy over her own body.
- There may be negative effects on her mental health if she is not the only person who has a say in the matter.
- The mother has the right to keep her medical information confidential from the father.
Pro Choice and Pro Life - Understanding the Arguments
We will now have a look at some arguments for (pro-choice) and against (pro-life) abortion.
Pro-choice arguments
- The principle of non-maleficence relates to doing no harm – not having an abortion may have a negative impact on the mother’s health or the foetus’ health.
- According to the principle of autonomy, a woman has the right to decide what to do with her body.
- If abortions are not readily available, some women may have backstreet abortions which may result in harm to them due to complications.
- Some women may fall pregnant due to traumatic circumstances such as rape; forcing her to have the baby may cause her mental harm.
Pro-life arguments
- Abortion may go against the principle of non-maleficence as death is the ultimate harm to the foetus as some people believe that life begins at the point of conception.
- In terms of justice, the NHS has limited resources, so it is more cost-effective to provide education about contraception rather than carrying out more abortions.
- Some families are looking to adopt children so it would be the beneficent thing to have a baby and give it up for adoption in this case rather than to have an abortion.
- The process of carrying out an abortion can cause mental harm to the mother.
Abortion And Medical Ethics: Example Interview Question
Let’s have a look at an example interview question and a model answer for it.
Example Interview Question
Do you think Abortion should be legal in the UK?
Model Answer
Abortion describes the medical process of ending a pregnancy, so it doesn’t result in the birth of a baby. The 2020 Abortion Regulations Act 2020 sets out conditions for Abortion including any time prior to 12 weeks of pregnancy, before 24 weeks if pregnancy causes mental or physical harm and after 24 weeks if significant impairment to the foetus or death is likely to occur.
In terms of reasons why abortion should be legal, one might argue that according to the principle of autonomy, a woman should have the right to decide what to do with her body. Moreover, the principle of non-maleficence can be used to argue that not having access to an abortion would have a negative impact on the mother’s health or the foetus’ health.
On the other hand, it could be argued that abortion shouldn’t be legal because it goes against the principle of non-maleficence as the death of the foetus is the ultimate harm. In addition to this, it may be better to invest money into education about contraception rather than abortions as the NHS has limited resources and there should be a fair allocation of resources according to the principle of justice.
Overall, I think abortion should be legal in the UK because if abortions are not readily available, some women will have backstreet abortions. This is very dangerous for women and may cause serious complications such as an increased risk of infection.
This answer follows a structure of introduction, arguments for and against and followed by a conclusion. This makes it easier for an interviewer to follow your answer. The use of principles of ethics helps to elevate the answer beyond just using points.
It is also good practice to have a balanced argument, hence the use of 2 points for and 2 points against the argument. It doesn’t matter which side you choose in the conclusion but it’s a great opportunity to add another point to your argument that didn’t fit in the body of your answer.
This isn’t the definitive way to answer this question, and the response you give may be greatly altered by how the question is phrased or what case studies may be used. However, the example given offers a well-rounded, comprehensive and well-researched response to the question that is likely to be satisfactory to your interviewer.
This concludes our guide on abortion in the context of medicine and med school interviews. It’s a difficult and sensitive topic, so be sure to approach any answer you give without personal bias and with proper respect for those affected by it.
There are plenty more ethical issues and scenarios that may be brought up in your interview, so be sure to explore our Medical Ethics guides to learn about more potential questions you may face. If you would like to work with expert medicine tutors to help prepare for your interviews, discover 6med’s Interview Tutoring Bundles, or our Medicine Mastery Bundles for complete application support. Thank you can good luck with your interviews!
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