Dog Abortion and Spaying Ethical and Moral Justification

Dog Abortion and Spaying Ethical and Moral Justification

Introduction

As a student in the sector of veterinary services, I was given an ethics and morality task involving the abortion of a three years old bitch. The dog had five fetuses in its uterus, and the chances of them surviving outside the womb are close to null. However, the owner requires that the spaying should be carried on and therefore requires me to initiate the process as soon as possible.  I understand that the patient, in this case- the dog, is entitled to be spayed with ethics to ensure that she is not traumatized by the process as elaborated by the National Farm Animal Care Council (2019). Notably, the operation is to be conduct ted with the imaginations of the feelings the dog would have if she realizes that she would not bear children again and that her children were all killed through the abortions process. The consideration of pain freedom of the animal is also vital in the process. This is as required by the veterinary ethics and morality requirements of animals (Nobis, 2016). Therefore, the process will determine the best method for spaying the dog.   The dog will also require to be taken care of after the spaying process as the ethics demand.   Therefore, in this paper, I will elaborate on the best method of abortion during spaying, the most appropriate euthanasia method, and the welfare impacts of the process to the dog.

Justification

Before authorizing the process, it is vital to ensure that there is a consideration of the nature of the fetuses inside the dog (Vaughn, 2015).   The main aim of the process is to ensure that the status of the fetuses is well catered for as well as the safety of the mother. Elaborately, it is always ethically correct to conduct abortion at the point where the fetuses are very young.  This issue prevents the mortality of the mother as well as the complexity of the spaying process.

According to the Association of Shelter Veterinarians’ Veterinary Task Force to Advance Spay-Neuter et al. (2016), the main reason as to why spaying ought to be conducted at a very tender age of the creatures is to prevent the parental attachment between the mother and the fetuses. According to research, ones the fetuses grow and develop towards the end of the gestation period, the mother is both emotionally and psychologically prepared to breastfeed the young ones. Therefore, in case the operation is conducted at such a tender age, there is a probability that the mother will be mentally affected when she lacks the young ones. Therefore, the animal will be subjected to stress and trauma. This issue is unethical.

Based on the elaboration, it is good to use an x-ray to film the state of the fetuses and their sizes before conducting the operation.    It is morally right to ensure that there is no risking taken towards the life of e animal.   However, the x-ray conducted should be light to avoid damaging the internal organs of the animal.   The process should be conducted with care to avoid the physical injury of the animal, after which results are analyzed professionally with all parameters of animal health taken into consideration.

In this case, it is evident the fetuses cannot survive outside the womb. However, based on the consideration of the owner’s preference as well as the status of the fetuses, it is justifiable to spay the animal and abort the fetuses.  Despite the fact that there are many arguments against animal abortion, it is ethically allowed in such a case.   It will only incur a consideration of the welfare of the animal throughout the process.

The Best Abortion and Spaying Method

There are different methodologies used in animal spaying operation process. Notably, it is vital to ensure that the method chosen induces the least pain and side effects as well as post-operation stress to the dog. This factor is as justified research by Underwood & Anthony (2013), which aims at discussing the stress avoidance during spaying as required by AVMA.  Another consideration made in the selection of the beast spaying method is the nature of the fetuses, where the number of offspring is the key determinant of the best method.   The taste of the owner is another consideration in the process where he has to authorize it depending on his preference and affordability.

There are two main methods of spaying a pregnant dog. One of the stra6egiesis called the Ovariohysterectomy technique, which involves the removal of both the ovaries and the uterus at ones. The method requires a lot of care to be taken during and after the process. The method is suitable.  The other method used for spaying dogs is called Ovariectomy. This strategy involves the removal of ovaries from the dog to ensure that it does not conceive any time in the future.   However, this strategy is not fit for pregnant dogs since it may lead to the death of the puppies inside the patients’ womb. Additionally, the process leads to extra pain induction to the animal even after the operation is conducted.  Therefore, the Ovariohysterectomy strategy is relevant in this case since it has fewer side effects to the animal. For example, the strategy helps to reduce the chances of cancer to the animal in the future.  On the other hand, despite the fact that the fetuses have no chances of surviving if eliminated from the womb, the technique is more effective, and there are no chances of the animal getting pregnant in the future. This process will help to eliminate the mental distress of the animal after healing since it has no chances of interacting with the puppies, which would give it mental challenges. Therefore, aborting the fetuses will be suitable in this case.

According to the nature of the animal, communication is vital to ensure that the process is well conducted with minimal errors such that harm will not be caused to the patient. Therefore, before conducting the spaying process, it is vital to observe the body of the animal keenly.   The information should be combined with the owner’s history with the animal to ensure that the operation is effective. Some of the parameters to consider in this case are the body temperature, illness history, if any, as well as the weight and the state of the fetuses in the uterus.  This factor justifies the efficiency of the abortion process through this technique. As a veterinarian, I would justify and initiate the operation after the observation. Based on the fact that spaying involves some surgical operations, it may cause pain during and after the process is complete.  However, the use of anesthetic drugs justifies the spaying and abortion process.    As a veterinarian, I would brief the owner that the method was effective and efficient as compared to any other strategy.

As elaborated by the ethics governing animal health, conducting such a process without any anesthetic effect for the animal is wrong.  In this case, the animal requires to be protected from the pain as well as trauma throughout the process.   It is, therefore, important to select the best anesthesia strategy for the animal.  Primarily, there are two main types of anesthesia.  One of the strategies is postoperative anesthesia, which helps the animal to cope with pain even after the operation is done.   The other method is preoperative anesthesia, which helps the animal to avoid pain during the operation and lasts a few hours after the surgery is complete.   These factors justify the entre process in terms of ethics and morality, as put across by Kirwan (Lecture 15).

Euthanasia

The process of aborting the fetuses involves euthanasia. This term refers to a process where the veterinarian chooses to terminate the life of an animal. According to the set standards in animal health, the fetuses are treated as live creatures irrespective of them being in the womb. Therefore the best technique to kill the five fetuses in the dog’s uterus should be selected. Mainly, this process is very critical, and if it is unethically and immorally conducted, both the mother and the fetuses may be subjected to excessive pain and distress, which are unethical.

One of the strategies used to conduct euthanasia is passive euthanasia. This strategy involves a process where the veterinarian indirectly causes the death of the fetuses.    Elaborately, the fetuses are left to succumb slowly on their own after inducing some drugs or even exposing them to a specific environmental condition. In contrast, the active euthanasia strategy involves a process where the veterinarian gets directly involved in killing the animals (Johnson, 2016).  For example, smashing or even strangling the fetuses, in this case, would be active euthanasia.  However, the strategy leads to traumatic processes that cause distress to the patient and the fetuses (Nobis, 2016).   Therefore, this method is morally unacceptable in the case.  The passive euthanasia strategy is hence, chosen due to its morality and ethics in aborting the fetuses.   Below is the model I would use to justify my choice.

The dog should be injected with various abortion drugs, which would help to terminate the life of the five fetuses before their removal. This method would be painless for both the patient and the fetuses.   After the process, the fetuses should then be removed together with the uterus. Justifiably, this strategy guarantees the efficiency and ethicality of abortion, as the owner requested.

Welfare Implications

He abortion process is prone to cause various implications to the dog.   However, the application of various strategies, as well as guidelines of veterinary services, justifies the progression of the abortion process.   One of the implications of the process to the dog is mental trauma.  Based on the fact that the process involves a surgical operation to eliminate the fetuses, the animal will experience some slight pain after fetal abortion.  To ensure that the animal avoids the challenge, it should be put under medication after the abortion is conducted. This factor will help the animal to cope with the implication effectively.  The brain will also detect some changes in the body after abortion (Looney et al., 2008). This factor is likely to be accelerated by the restricted movement of the animal as well as the post-operation processes conducted.  However, good care should be given where the animal will be checked regularly to prevent issues of stress from coping with the challenge as ethics demand.   Another implication is that the animal will never bear puppies again after the abortion. However, based on the fact that the owner of the dog wants it spayed, this abortion is justified ethically. In general, the abortions have some mild implications on both the physical and the mental aspects.  According to the standards set in animal health, the animal may realize that it has aborted the fetuses if it sees them disposed of. There is a tendency of this factor affecting the welfare of the dog, where it will be emotionally and psychologically traumatized.   Based on this fact, the disposition of the fetuses will be efficiently done to prevent it, and thus, abortion is justified.

Conclusion

In conclusion, abortions in animals require to be conducted under specific conditions, ethics, and morality.   The paper has elaborated on a case of a pregnant dog whose owner wants to spay. However, after conducting a check on the fetuses using the X-ray, it was noted that the fetuses’ survival out of the uterus, which must happen in the spaying process is very law. As a veterinary officer, I justified the abortion I various ways irrespective of the euthanasia conducted on the five fetuses.  The abortion was supported since the fetuses were less developed and could not survive after spaying. Hence, they had no connection with their mother, which would bring mental distress.  The s[paying process also involved the use of anaesthesia as well as abortion pills for the dog. Therefore, the animal was saved from pain and the fetuses subjected to passive euthanasia, which was less painful and traumatic for the dog.

 

 

References

 

 

 

Association of Shelter Veterinarians’ Veterinary Task Force to Advance Spay-Neuter, Griffin, B., Bushby, P. A., McCobb, E., White, S. C., Rigdon-Brestle, Y. K., … & Eddlestone, S. M. (2016). The Association of Shelter Veterinarians’ 2016 veterinary medical care guidelines for spay-neuter programs. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 249(2), 165-188.

Johnson, R. R. (2016). Moral Permissibility of Active Euthanasia (Master’s thesis).

Kirwan, A.,p.(Lecture 15). Ethics in Veterinary Practice

Looney, A. L., Bohling, M. W., Bushby, P. A., Howe, L. M., Griffin, B., Levy, J. K., … & Ferguson, N. J. (2008). The Association of Shelter Veterinarians veterinary medical care guidelines for spay-neuter programs. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 233(1), 74-86.

National Farm Animal Care Council. (2019). Codes of practice for care and handling of farm animals. Retrieved from: https://www.nfacc.ca/codes-of-practice

Nobis, N. (2016). Animals and Ethics 101: Thinking Critically About Animal Rights. Open Philosophy Press.

Underwood, W., & Anthony, R. (2013). AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals: 2020 Edition.

Vaughn, L. (2015). Doing ethics: Moral reasoning and contemporary issues. WW Norton & Company.