Medical research as a solution to the moral dilemmas of ectopic pregnancy treatment
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14422/pen.v81.i317.y2025.001Keywords:
Ectopic pregnancy, Ethics, Morality, Principle of double effect, Expectant management, Salpingectomy, Salpingostomy, Methotrexate, Relocation, Embryo, Medical research, Unborn child, Relocation of ectopic pregnancyAbstract
Ectopic pregnancy is a serious obstetric condition that poses a life-threatening risk to the mother and requires early treatment to safeguard her life.
Currently, there are four available treatment options for this condition, depending on the patient's clinical status. However, it is not possible to save the life of the unborn child. When this condition arises, two scenarios may occur: either the embryo has already died before the pregnancy is detected, in which case treatment presents no ethical dilemma, or the embryo is still alive, meaning the physician is faced with two patients—the mother and the unborn child. Depending on the chosen treatment, a number of ethical dilemmas may emerge and must be carefully analyzed.
Treatments such as expectant management or salpingectomy raise fewer moral concerns, with salpingectomy being the clearest example of the application of the principle of double effect in managing this condition.
Salpingostomy is also widely accepted, with its moral justification grounded in the principle of double effect; however, some authors oppose it, arguing that the direct manipulation of the embryo constitutes a direct abortion.
Pharmacological treatment with methotrexate raises the greatest number of moral dilemmas, and there is no clear consensus due to its impact on the trophoblast and the embryo.
In light of these ethical dilemmas, it can be concluded that the development of a treatment capable of ensuring embryonic survival and allowing the continuation of the pregnancy (such as relocating the ectopic pregnancy to the uterus) would resolve many of these moral conflicts. For this reason, medical research plays a fundamental role not only in treating the condition itself but also in addressing the ethical challenges posed by current treatment options.
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