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Problems at the Beginning of Life

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Textbook of Medical Ethics

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Abstract

When problems involve children we tend to look at them in a different way than we look at similar problems involving older (and especially elderly) patients. Reasons for this attitude are briefly examined. Specific problems occurring at the beginning of life are discussed. Abortion is examined in its historical and philosophical setting. The problem of abortion is used to examine the probity of legislating the moral beliefs of one particular group and thereby restraining the rest of the community. Other problems examined in this section are problems of defective newborns, the use of anencephalics as organ donors, informed consent in the pediatric age group, surrogacy, forced C-section, and fetal abuse. The economic aspects of these problems are very briefly considered.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, Peoria, Illinois, USA

    Erich H. Loewy M.D.

  2. University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Erich H. Loewy M.D.

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  1. Erich H. Loewy M.D.
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© 1989 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Loewy, E.H. (1989). Problems at the Beginning of Life. In: Textbook of Medical Ethics. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-4479-9_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-4479-9_11

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-017-4481-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-017-4479-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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