Abortion from a bioethical perspective

Abstract

One of the main questions that guide Brazilian society is the abortion legality, regardless of any specific cause. According to the Penal Code of 1940, it is legal to interrupt pregnancy until its 12th week if it is a consequence of rape or if it will result in risk for the mother. In 2012, anencephaly and microcephaly were included in this category. Our study presents the bioethics discussion about abortion. It is an integrative review of literature, in which articles published between 2010 and 2021 were selected using PubMed, SciELO and BVS databases with the keywords: “bioethics” and “abortion”. The contrary argument is guided by the discussion that a person is formed in the moment of fecundation, so that abortion violates the right of life. Others defend the theory of potentiality, claiming that every fetus is a human being in potential. The defense of decriminalization of abortion, on the other hand, relies on the idea that a human person is an anthropologic concept, thus requiring the social relation to make sense. The person’s status would be acquired by social interaction. The defenders also emphasize that abortion is a serious health issue in Brazil due to the clandestine abortions, which cause excessive spending and high mother morbimortality. Lastly, some defend the abortion decriminalization based on the principle of autonomy. In conclusion, although abortion legality is a huge discussion since the 19th century, it is far from having a resolution, after all, solving the problem of abortion ethics involves considering moral and cultural diversity of the populations affected.