Diagnosis of autism, abortion and the ethics of childcare in Yoruba culture.

Publisher: Forum for Medical Ethics Society Country of Publication: India NLM ID: 101214913 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 0975-5691 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 09748466 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Indian J Med Ethics Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: Mumbai : Forum for Medical Ethics Society, 2004-

Child Health* ; Culture* ; Ethics, Medical* ; Personhood*; Abortion, Induced/*ethics ; Autistic Disorder/*diagnosis ; Child Health Services/*ethics; Africa ; Autistic Disorder/genetics ; Autistic Disorder/therapy ; Child ; Cultural Competency ; Female ; Genetic Testing ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Moral Obligations ; Pregnancy ; Principle-Based Ethics ; Risk ; Value of Life

This paper examines the ethics of childcare in Yoruba culture in the contexts of autism and abortion. The traditional Yoruba moral principles of ibikojuibi (equality of humans at birth) and ajowapo (solidarity) have been theoretically developed to establish the personhood of autistic children and provide a justification for not aborting foetuses with autism. Despite these justifications, this paper argues that there is a need for contextual rethinking, which would allow for: (i) prenatal genetic testing, as well as abortion of foetuses with a high risk of the autism mutation, and (ii) early clinical diagnosis and treatment of autistic children in contemporary Yoruba society.

Date Created: 20141108 Date Completed: 20160620 Latest Revision: 20170914

20231215

10.20529/IJME.2014.062

25377038