Title: [Abortion in tumor patients from a legal viewpoint]

POPLINE Document Number: 015001

Author(s):

Spann W

Source citation:

Mmw. Munchener Medizinische Wochenschrift, 1982 Nov 5;124(44):957-8.

Abstract:

Legal abortion is still punishable when there is insufficient justification. Abortion requires the patient's informed consent and authorized indication, assessment and preabortion counseling. Indications can be criminal or social (time limit up to 12th pregnancy week), eugenic (not more than 22nd week), and medical (no time limit). For tumor patients the indication is exclusively medical; lacking this indication (e.g. benign tumor or completely cured malignancy) the pregnant tumor patient is legally treated as any other pregnancy. Informed consent is predicated upon mental competence. The informed patient must fully understand the impact and risk of the procedure in relation to his own health and the rights of the fetus. This holds true also for minors; as long as there appears to be full understanding, the minor's consent alone is sufficient in a tumor-threatened pregnancy. The medical indication for tumor patients holds in that abortion is the only means to prevent endangerment to life, physical, and/or mental health; all other means must be exhausted. An additional social indication is the prevention of severe hardship to the woman when no other means of avoiding this are available. Any qualified physician (not only a gynecologist) may perform the procedure provided conditions for diagnosis procedure and aftercare are met. The procedure must be done in a hospital or authorized facility. The latter may be a physician's office or ambulatory care facility provided facilities for hospitalization are available when needed. According to law a physician is obligated to perform (or assist in) an abortion only when the procedure is necessary to prevent death or serious physical harm. In all other cases the physician may refuse to do this without explaining his motivation.

Keywords:

Abortion
Informed Consent
Cancer
Fertility Control, Postconception
Family Planning
Neoplasms
Diseases