Abstract

During the last few years, several maternity departments in Paris hospitals have registered an increasing number of parental refusals to terminate pregnancies on the basis of foetal abnormality. These refusals have provoked disagreement and tension between parents and medical staff within the departments in question. The present contribution will endeavour to advance a number of ethical arguments and an analysis of these moral dilemmas with a view to justifying the need to fully account for the moral preferences of the parents who refuse to have their pregnancy interrupted.