theories, conflict-based theories, feminist theory, and ethics of care) acknowledges the pregnant woman's competency to make her own decision for her and her body, including the fetus, but with the fetus’ well-being in mind. acknowledging what happens after the fetus is delivered is the post-delivery perspective of pediatricians. principle-based and conflict-based theories principle-based theory is defined as "respect for patient autonomy, beneficence non-maleficence, and justice to guide conflict resolution." conflict-based theories emphasize women's rights to autonomy and the physician's moral obligation to both the woman and the fetus separately. conflict arises as pregnancy is only unique to women, which is why it is necessary to prioritize women's autonomy and rights. when the fetal interest is prioritized, it imposes on social and racial equality. feminist theory feminist theory (also known as feminist ethics) is a gender-based perspective, which acknowledges that women are treated differently in decision-making. ethics of care and relational ethics ethics of care and relational ethics acknowledges human relationships (i.e. relationship of patient to fetus, physician, community, society, etc.) as well as a woman's life experiences (e.g. age, political view, religion, lifestyle, etc.) and how that affects a person's decision-making. in terms of maternal-fetal conflict, it emphasizes understanding the patient's values and experiences to best support her decisions. sample of conflicting health problems affecting mother and fetus health problem summary pre-eclampsia pre-eclampsia is a pregnancy disorder where maternal hypertension and proteinuria can occur. cancer the most common types of cancers associated with pregnancies include malignant melanoma, lymphomas, and leukemia as well as cancer of the cervix, thyroid, ovary, breast, and colon. maternal cancer therapy (e.g. chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgical oncology) tends to cause risks for fetus. immunological diseases the mother and fetus have their own individual immunological interfaces, which can cause immunological diseases. the case of medea m. c. reid's journal, "the case of medea—a view of fetal-maternal conflict" alludes to the greek myth of medea as it addresses maternal-fetal scenarios. the myth of medea is about a woman named medea who killed her two children as revenge against her husband. m. c. reid compares madea to several maternal-fetal scenarios, those of meilssa, nada, and olga through the use of conflict analysis based on: the reason for the act. the life of the moral patients. the rights of the moral agent. the reason for the act there could be several reasons behind an act: is it inherently vicious (e.g. based on hatred, cruelty, greed, etc.); is it a morally commended act (e.g. based on respect, consideration, compassion, etc.); or is it a neutral act (e.g. based on no motives, accidental situations, etc.). certain acts can seem good, but with vicious motives. for example, a surgeon does an intervention because they are sadistic, but the procedure helps the patient resulting in a good act, but with vicious intent. reid argues that a mother would unlikely act purposely vicious toward her fetus. the life of the moral patients there are many different views of the maternal-fetal relationship: one point of view addresses how the fetus affects the mother as they share a physiology, which is a counter-view to the fetus being separate from its mother. another perspective is the fetus being part of the mother as one unit, but the fetus gradually increases in moral value as a patient. a third perspective is that the fetus is not of moral value until birth. the rights of the moral agent women have rights and autonomy; some argue that these rights are under threat during situations involving abortion. as long as a woman is competent to make decisions regarding her own body and fetus, she is considered eligible to make decisions and retain her autonomy and rights. conflict analysis the case of medea uses conflict analysis to address and compare medea's story to three other fictional women: melissa, nada, and olga. the case of medea conflict analysis background story reason for the act life of the moral patient rights of the moral participants medea as an act of revenge against her husband, madea killed her two children. while clear and understandable, the act as not justifiable. considering the status of a woman in greece in medea's era, where she sacrificed a lot for her husband, this act was a way for her to reclaim her personhood. the children are innocent, yet their mother killed them. melissa melissa is 30 weeks pregnant with twins, and wants to terminate her pregnancy the justification is similar to medea's situation. denying termination of the pregnancy means denying melissa's rights. the difference between melissa's situation and that of medea's is that the fetal twins have different moral value than born children, but there is no justification for the termination other than melissa not wanting to continue the pregnancy. nada nada, at 24 weeks of pregnancy has htn-of-pregnancy (hop) syndrome, where there is a risk of brain hemorrhage and seizures to the mother. she has to terminate the pregnancy to save her life, but is upset about it. in order to save the life of the mother, the termination is justifiable. no one is expected to sacrifice one's own life for another. based on the gradualist point of view, the moral status of the fetus is less in value at early gestational age. olga at 22 weeks of pregnancy, olga has mixed feelings, but no strong dislike for the fetus. she prefers to not go through with pregnancy because she believes the pregnancy is becoming a burden. while there is no absolute wrong in this situation, it cannot be quite justifiable. denying termination of the pregnancy means denying olga's rights. this is a very nebulous situation because if the fetus is a burden, but not a health problem, it is necessary to weigh the needs of the fetus and mother.