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Case/Article Review 2
You have two minutes to read the enclosed article, and you will subsequently be asked a range of questions by the interviewer. You may wish to make notes, however please note you will not be allowed to refer to your notes or the article during the discussion.
‘’Forcing pregnant women who do not want a child of one sex or the other to give birth could harm both the baby and the mother's mental health, a leading doctors' union member has said.
Prof Wendy Savage, a voting member of the British Medical Association Council, also said women should have the right to terminate a pregnancy at any stage. The comments by Prof Savage, a women's rights campaigner and retired obstetrician and gynaecologist, come after a proposal to decriminalise terminations passed the first hurdle in the House of Commons last week.
Her intervention is likely to spark a strong reaction from campaigners on both sides of the argument. Prof Savage said sex-selective abortions were a "myth" and hit out at NHS hospitals which refused to disclose an unborn baby's sex.
Parents wanting to find out the sex of their baby can usually do so in a mid-term scan at between 18 to 21 weeks, but some hospitals have a policy of not telling, according to the NHS Choices website.
Under current laws, it is illegal for a woman to have an abortion after 24 weeks for non-medical reasons and each procedure must be signed off by two doctors before it can go ahead.
But Prof Savage said "The foetus is a potential human life at that stage (in the womb); it is not an actual human life ... I think you've got to concentrate on the (rights of the) woman."
MPs last week voted in favour of the Reproductive Health (Access to Terminations) Bill, which would remove criminal sanctions for women and doctors in England and Wales and place regulation with professional bodies. But Christian MP Maria Caulfield warned the change could bring about a rise in "back street abortions".’’
(Adapted from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/19/sex-selective-abortions-should-allowed-british-medical-association)
Outline the main issues raised.
‘’Forcing pregnant women who do not want a child of one sex or the other to give birth could harm both the baby and the mother's mental health, a leading doctors' union member has said.
Prof Wendy Savage, a voting member of the British Medical Association Council, also said women should have the right to terminate a pregnancy at any stage. The comments by Prof Savage, a women's rights campaigner and retired obstetrician and gynaecologist, come after a proposal to decriminalise terminations passed the first hurdle in the House of Commons last week.
Her intervention is likely to spark a strong reaction from campaigners on both sides of the argument. Prof Savage said sex-selective abortions were a "myth" and hit out at NHS hospitals which refused to disclose an unborn baby's sex.
Parents wanting to find out the sex of their baby can usually do so in a mid-term scan at between 18 to 21 weeks, but some hospitals have a policy of not telling, according to the NHS Choices website.
Under current laws, it is illegal for a woman to have an abortion after 24 weeks for non-medical reasons and each procedure must be signed off by two doctors before it can go ahead.
But Prof Savage said "The foetus is a potential human life at that stage (in the womb); it is not an actual human life ... I think you've got to concentrate on the (rights of the) woman."
MPs last week voted in favour of the Reproductive Health (Access to Terminations) Bill, which would remove criminal sanctions for women and doctors in England and Wales and place regulation with professional bodies. But Christian MP Maria Caulfield warned the change could bring about a rise in "back street abortions".’’
(Adapted from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/19/sex-selective-abortions-should-allowed-british-medical-association)
Outline the main issues raised.
Average Candidate Response
This article talks about the issues of abortion and sex selection and whether they should be allowed.
This article talks about the issues of abortion and sex selection and whether they should be allowed.
Excellent Candidate Response
There are a number of important issues raised in this article ranging from allowing parents to select the sex of their offspring to extending the window within which abortions are allowed for non-medical reasons.
With regards to sex-selection, allowing parents to abort children which are not of their preferred sex may assist in preventing childhood neglect as well as mental health morbidity amongst parents, as the article suggests.
On the other hand, sex selection of offspring can be regarded as ‘Playing God’ as well as leading to a possible slippery slope effect, with future parents also wishing to select the eye colour, skin colour amongst other features of their unborn offspring.
With regards to allowing non-medical abortions beyond 24 weeks, this argument very much depends on one’s interpretation of when a foetus is viable.
There are a number of important issues raised in this article ranging from allowing parents to select the sex of their offspring to extending the window within which abortions are allowed for non-medical reasons.
With regards to sex-selection, allowing parents to abort children which are not of their preferred sex may assist in preventing childhood neglect as well as mental health morbidity amongst parents, as the article suggests.
On the other hand, sex selection of offspring can be regarded as ‘Playing God’ as well as leading to a possible slippery slope effect, with future parents also wishing to select the eye colour, skin colour amongst other features of their unborn offspring.
With regards to allowing non-medical abortions beyond 24 weeks, this argument very much depends on one’s interpretation of when a foetus is viable.