Abstract
It has only recently become possible to consider issues of justice for prenatal life. Of course, spiritual considerations of the sanctity of life, particularly within the Roman Catholic tradition, have long reinforced a high regard for prenatal life. However, neither the social condition which could have encouraged a view of fetal life as worthy of protection nor the medical breakthroughs which could have provided detailed knowledge of the exigencies of prenatal development were present before the mid-twentieth century. While many previous cultural groups reinforced familial cohesiveness, maternal care and, thus, indirectly, support for prenatal life, knowledgeable decisions regarding the medical and biological needs of the fetus are a modern day phenomenon.
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© 1981 D. Reidel Publishing Company
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Lappé, M. (1981). Justice and Prenatal Life. In: Shelp, E.E. (eds) Justice and Health Care. Philosophy and Medicine, vol 8. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-8392-2_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-8392-2_6
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-277-1251-6
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