Which of the following is not among the commonly cited bioethical principles in abortion debates?

• A. Beneficence
• B. Autonomy
• C. Justice
• D. Utility

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is which ethical lens is most commonly used to discuss abortion, not which principle is always present in every clinical encounter. In abortion debates, the dominant frames are respect for autonomy (a woman's right to decide for herself) and concerns about justice (fair access, noncoercive treatment). Public policy discussions also bring in utilitarian considerations about overall consequences, but beneficence—the idea of acting to promote the patient’s good in a straightforward clinical sense—is not the primary frame shaping these debates. While clinicians can aim to act beneficently by supporting a patient’s welfare, the debates tend to foreground autonomy and justice as the guiding principles, with utility appearing more in policy discussions than as a core principle of the argument.