Abortion: Medical & Ethical Realities (w/Dr. Alexandre West)
The complex ethical, medical, and psychological issues relating to women's health & abortion are nuanced and often non-intuitive. An OB/Gyn doc joins me to help us better understand. Dr. Alexandre (Alex) West is an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Connecticut. Links to women's support resources, audio podcast, and more: https://zdoggmd.com/abortion-facts Topics & Timecodes 00:00 Intro 03:13 Scope of obstetrics, abortion as a part of the entire reproductive journey, legislator qualifications (or lack thereof) 07:46 Factors leading to unwanted pregnancy, nuances of birth control including eligibility, access & effectiveness 11:41 Ethical considerations including autonomy (personal control), maleficence (helping) & non-maleficence (not doing harm) 19:00 How pregnancy "weeks" are calculated, fetal cardiac activity, PCOS 24:27 Ethics of maternal autonomy vs. fetal autonomy 28:49 Ectopic pregnancy 35:33 The moral matrix, Alt-Middle perspective, mental health, postpartum depression & legislation as a barrier 40:59 Nuance surrounding the definition of "life-threatening," medical decision-making & potential provider legal implications 45:31 The morning after pill, medication & procedural termination options, Mifepristone & Mifepristol 52:40 Tools, team & trust, teratogenic pregnancies, diabetes & cancer in pregnancy 1:01:44 Preventing unwanted pregnancies, need for education, birth control access, managing baseline health conditions, social determinants of health 1:07:21 Mindfulness, trauma, ACOG's policy on abortion, the physician/patient relationship, final thoughts Your support keeps us independent and mild-to-moderately awesome: https://zdoggmd.com/supporters Show, podcast, music, support, shop, social media, and email: https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd
The complex ethical, medical, and psychological issues relating to women's health & abortion are nuanced and often non-intuitive. An OB/Gyn doc joins me to help us better understand. Dr. Alexandre (Alex) West is an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Connecticut. Links to women's support resources, audio podcast, and more: https://zdoggmd.com/abortion-facts Topics & Timecodes 00:00 Intro 03:13 Scope of obstetrics, abortion as a part of the entire reproductive journey, legislator qualifications (or lack thereof) 07:46 Factors leading to unwanted pregnancy, nuances of birth control including eligibility, access & effectiveness 11:41 Ethical considerations including autonomy (personal control), maleficence (helping) & non-maleficence (not doing harm) 19:00 How pregnancy "weeks" are calculated, fetal cardiac activity, PCOS 24:27 Ethics of maternal autonomy vs. fetal autonomy 28:49 Ectopic pregnancy 35:33 The moral matrix, Alt-Middle perspective, mental health, postpartum depression & legislation as a barrier 40:59 Nuance surrounding the definition of "life-threatening," medical decision-making & potential provider legal implications 45:31 The morning after pill, medication & procedural termination options, Mifepristone & Mifepristol 52:40 Tools, team & trust, teratogenic pregnancies, diabetes & cancer in pregnancy 1:01:44 Preventing unwanted pregnancies, need for education, birth control access, managing baseline health conditions, social determinants of health 1:07:21 Mindfulness, trauma, ACOG's policy on abortion, the physician/patient relationship, final thoughts Your support keeps us independent and mild-to-moderately awesome: https://zdoggmd.com/supporters Show, podcast, music, support, shop, social media, and email: https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd