If we were to try and analyze ethics in the field of medicine, it would be akin to walking on a minefield strewn with unexploded bombs at random locations. Most topics are extremely sensitive and evoke strong reactions, both for and against them.
A recent news item about the Pope refusing to sanction the use of condoms for Roman Catholics and adhering firmly to the belief that only abstinence could prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases like HIV/AIDS caused quite a stir in the media, with even people belonging to the Church questioning the finality of this decision.
And then we have those who believe that abortion is a mortal sin, as is euthanasia. In my book, the ultimate decision lies with the patient, the one who is going to be the most affected by outcome of saying yes or no to the procedure. So a terminally ill patient has the moral right to seek a mercy killing rather than suffer like hell and still die in a few months; a man or woman has the right to choose to insist on a condom when indulging in sexual relations if they suspect or know that the other person is suffering from a contagious disease, especially one that could prove fatal, and a mother has the right to decide whether to carry her unborn fetus to full term or abort it, depending on her financial, emotional and physical situation.
And that is where ultrasound comes into the picture, in helping a woman make up her mind as to whether to keep her baby or not. An ultrasound is a painless, comfortable and relatively inexpensive method of determining how well the fetus is growing inside the uterus, how old it is and how healthy the mother’s placenta is. It is also capable of determining any congenital abnormalities like Down’s syndrome (along with a few more blood tests), the results of which can be used by the mother to decide whether or not to carry the baby to term or abort the fetus.
When we empower the patient and allow them to make their own decisions, we’re left with fewer problems in society. A woman who is unable to provide for her child is better off aborting the fetus rather than giving birth to a child who grows up and takes to the seamier side of life in order to survive. A woman who knows her fetus has a congenital abnormality is entitled to decide on an abortion if she knows that she has neither the money nor the capability to provide the lifelong care that the disabled child needs. And a woman who knows that she is carrying multiple fetuses is well within her rights to decide on selective termination so that she is able to provide well for the baby (babies) that are left.
Ultrasound gives women this kind of empowerment, which is why it is a boon for those who need to take a decision based on accurate results of the fetus and its normalcy or lack of it. One instance where an ultrasound cannot and must not be used to take a decision on medical termination of the pregnancy is during the selection of the sex of the baby. There are instances of couples and families in certain countries like China and India clamoring for male children and so aborting female fetuses. This leads to distorted sex ratios, with males outnumbering females and causing an imbalance of nature. Although there’s a law against revealing the sex of the unborn fetus in these countries, this practice still continues, especially in rural parts of the countries.