title: [Prenatal human life and unwanted pregnancy: our medical responsibility].
abstract: In practical life, unwanted pregnancy and prenatal human life are often irreconcilable and hence paradoxical. This paradox is aggravated by the fact that the doctor is aware of the human qualities associated with prenatal human life, as formulated today by researchers in biology and psychology: Any human being "in statu nascendi" is endowed with all the requisite human qualities right from the beginning. Seen from the anthropological point of view, the meaning of biological evolution is a development towards increasing spiritualisation and freedom, liberation and ability to change and to undergo transformation. Mental functions of the foetus are present from the eighth week of pregnancy. Human individuality begins with conception and procreation. The multifacetted meaning of the term "unwantedness" is examined. It is the doctor's burden to bear the antagonism between the sensitivity of prenatal human life on the one hand and the rigid wall of denial represented by unwantedness on the other, and to build a bridge of responsibility between the two.
mesh_terms: D000028:Abortion, Induced; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005260:Female; D005860:Germany, West; D006801:Humans; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011247:Pregnancy; D011275:Pregnancy, Unwanted
vernacular_title: Vorgeburtliches Menschenleben und ungewollte Schwangerschaft: unsere ärztliche Verantwortung.