Case Evaluation
Being a teenager with a challenging background, some conflicts face the patient that will determine her future. The rules established are not sufficient to help in explaining the ethical considerations to be evaluated in finding a viable solution to the complications facing Kate. As an orphan teenager, she neither has any guardian to take care of her nor stable financial support. Additionally, most of the states in the US have banned abortion, and it is only allowed under defined circumstances (Vaughn, 2015). Being a bright girl, Kate is faced with a dilemma of deciding to keep the unborn child or continuing her education.
Considering her background, Kate has to concentrate on her education no matter the challenges she is facing. Although abortion is not the best option, keeping the unborn child may lead to her losing a chance to have the best future and to provide for her family. Additionally, depending on the state she resides in, abortion is legalized before a certain gestation period. For instance, Arizona and North Carolina prohibit abortion after 20 weeks, while others such as Oklahoma, Louisiana, Kansas, Alabama, and Indiana prohibit abortion after 22 weeks (Upadhyay, Weitz, Jones, Barar, & Foster, 2014).
Besides, since she is only eight weeks into her gestation period, there are low levels of risks involves if she undergoes the exercise. Considerably, the law also permits abortion if the pregnancy risks the mother’s life and in this case, Kate is undergoing both mental and physical instability which might interfere with her education. As such, it would be important for Kate to visit a psychologist to explain to her the underlying medical implications of the procedure and the best way to perform it. Essentially, considering her background, age, future and her financial stability, Kate to consider abortion before maturity of the fetus to avoid breaking the law.
References
Upadhyay, U. D., Weitz, T. A., Jones, R. K., Barar, R. E., & Foster, D. G. (2014). Denial of abortion because of provider gestational age limits in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 104(9), 1687-1694.
Vaughn, L. (2015). Doing ethics: Moral reasoning and contemporary issues. WW Norton & Company.