In this paper I would like to talk about different important stages of our life as a “youthâ€. Our first stage as a young human is being a fetus. A “fetus†is not only important for the women who is caring inside her body, but also to this society. Many religions have different ways of viewing this stage of our youth. But a fetus is innocent, like a newborn baby. Women should have full rights to make decisions to become mother or have contraception. Many mothers are also youth and teenage pregnancy these days is an endemic problem in many countries. In fact in some countries more than half of the mothers are “youthâ€.
We can find many ethical problems facing pregnant women and those raised by considerations of the status of the fetus. One issue is when a lady is in a vulnerable condition, such as being a teenager and/or a victim of rape. I think it should be a women’s choice what she should do if she is pregnant, especially if she is raped. Definitely she may normally seek guidance from a family and doctors about her medical conditions but all rights should be given to her if she wants to become mother than whatever the background from by which she became pregnant she should be allowed to have a child. For example in Chile a country in South America a girl is prohibited to do abortion even she is raped. We know it is challenging for the ethical issues of pregnant women and it is always difficult to make a universal law due to different cultures and interpretations of religion. In my religion, Hinduism, a fetus is a sentient being from some weeks after conception.
Another type of ethical problem arises when pregnant women reject medical recommendations like to stop using illegal drugs, alcohol or other potential activities, which will harm fetus, during pregnancy. In such a case, I think physicians and family need to give stronger guidance. Care can also be given like moral guidance and at least consulting her over the importance of the fetus inside her. To cause harm to another life is a sin in Hindu religion, as in all other religions.
I think awareness about these issues that youth are facing is still needed, not only in developing countries, but also to develop country’s youth, parents, and medical professionals. Advanced medical diagnostics and treatment systems should also be used before the mother makes the decisions about abortion. The mother’s rights are more important than the fetus, and when we have to save the life of one of them, we save the mother. There are many ethicists discussing regarding the rights of fetus also, but this bioethical dilemma is one of the common serious dilemmas that youth have to face. They need some background in bioethics before facing such serious crises if they are to make better moral decisions, and not end up spoiling their youth with a heart full of guilt.
By: Rimesh Khanal
