D Cavanaugh
No abstract available.
Cavanaugh D. Legalized abortion: the conscience clause and coercion. Hosp. Prog. 1971;52(8):86-90.
Category: Abortion
(Editorial) The abortion situation
CMAJ
Extract
One certainty at least about the situation as regards the liberalization of abortion in Canada is that the problem it presents is not going to go away. . . . one cannot but conclude that the dilemma posed by this state of affairs cannot be dismissed by the ingemination of ready-made phrases such as “rights of the fetus” and “reverence for life”, no matter how respectable these may sound. One suspects that sometimes such phrases are used to rationalize inflexible attitudes and spare a probing of deeper motivation. In some instances they may well suffice for individual physicians who wish to dissociate themselves completely from the issue. But they will not satisfy society at large, to whom another set of slogans (“every baby a wanted baby” and “a woman has the right to the control of her own body”) has a stronger appeal. . . Has not the time come, therefore, for society, including the medical profession, to admit the state of affairs that prevails and face up to its obligations? . . . No serious person believes that abortion should be considered as an alternative to the regular practice of birth control. The by-no-means negligible morbidity associated with abortion and the occasional fatality, apart from the demands it makes on hospital and medical staff, make it much too costly when simple means of conception control are readily available. . . the escape from this dilemma is not in saying that birth control should have been used. . . [advocates sex education as described in Brave New World]. . . as long as human beings are sometimes careless and irresponsible, even if they are no longer ignorant, unwanted pregnancy will occur and the question of its termination, if we have the respect for motherhood we profess, will have to be faced.
CMAJ. (Editorial) The abortion situation. Can Med Assoc J. 1971 May 22;104(10):941.
(Correspondence) Obstetric Appointments and the Abortion Act
HP Dunn
Extract
I would be grateful if readers would let me know if reports we hear about British hospital practice are factual or not. We are told that candidates for obstetrical and gynaecological posts are first asked if they will co-operate in the abortion programme of that hospital, and their selection depends on the answer to this question.. .
Dunn H. (Correspondence) Obstetric Appointments and the Abortion Act. Br Med J. 1971 May 22;2(5759):464. Available from:
(Correspondence) L’avortement therapeutique (French)
Et Borreman
Extract
Concerning the problem of abortion several articles of which have since appeared some time in the Journal, personally I defend the right to the life of a human being, even if he is only a few days old, is innocent and cannot defend himself.
Borreman E. (Correspondence) L’avortement therapeutique (French). Can Med Assoc J. 1971;104(5):421.
(Correspondence) Therapeutic abortion
Cezar Heine
Extract
. . . Is the fetus entitled to the same protection as the adult human being? . . . I would challenge any reader to define a human being in any other way than in such relational terms as mother, son, wife or neighbour; only as we relate to people in these terms do we come to know who we are. Psychological or biological definitions are singularly inapt for this purpose. . . .
Heine C. (Correspondence) Therapeutic abortion. Can Med Assoc J. 1971 March 6;104(5):421.
(Correspondence) Therapeutic abortion in a Canadian city
JG Stapleton
Extract
The two cases described by Dr. Boyce belong to two very different categories and probably should not be associated even for statistical purposes because of the vast difference between x-ray exposures resulting from diagnostic procedures and therapeutic applications. . . Hence my point: radiation received in x-ray diagnosis is not a valid reason for therapeutic abortion.
Stapleton J. (Correspondence) Therapeutic abortion in a Canadian city. Can Med Assoc J. 1971;104(1):70.
(Correspondence) Abortion
Arthur ME Kennedy
Extract
The appearance of the two letters on abortion in sequence in the Journal . . . illustrated the diverging ethics of the members and future members of our profession. Reading the letter by Dr. Heine was indeed like feeling a breath of fresh unpolluted air in the smog of today’s confused thinking. . . .How different was the letter by the President of the Medical Students’ Society of McGill University stating the unanimous opinion of their Executive Council.
Kennedy AM. (Correspondence) Abortion. Can Med Assoc J. 1971 Jan 09;104(1):70.
(Correspondence) Abortion
WG Burrows
Extract
I cannot believe that the majority of physicians in Canada really couldn’t care less about such vital problems as the unwanted pregnancy and its reaction on the subsequent mental health of the mother (and unwanted child), not to mention the increasing threat to our way of life from overpopulation. I can only conclude that it is the wish not to be involved which permits major decisions to be swayed by a small but vocal group of religious bigots -sincere, well-meaning, God-fearing people, no doubt, but bigots just the same in that they seek to enforce the attitudes and wishes of a minority upon the majority.
Burrows W. (Correspondence) Abortion. Can Med Assoc J. 1970;103(12):1316.
(Correspondence) Abortions under the NHS
HGE Arthure
Extract
It seems to me that social services do remarkably little for either the unmarried girl or the married women with poor housing conditions, even if they could be persuaded to continue with their pregnancy. It is not surprising that they suffer from a reactive depression, and I believe that abortion should be available to them on the National Health Service. It is speedily avail able in the private sector for those who can afford or can borrow the money. Unfortunately the waiting list for outpatient appointments is increasing, and there may be unavoidable delay in admission to hospital.
Arthure H. (Correspondence) Abortions under the NHS. Br Me. J. 1970;4(5735):617.
(Correspondence) Abortion
PG Coffey
Extract
. . . Apart from a difference in maturity, there is no essential difference biologically between the prenatal and the postnatal child. It would appear, however, that those who believe in liberalized abortion ignore completely the most simple biological facts about the prenatal child and assume that life begins at birth and that whatever goes on before this is so mysterious that it can hardly be called life. . . Those who say that a law should be passed making abortion a purely medical question and independent of the law are in fact saying that the prenatal child does not deserve any legal right to life whatsoever. . .
Coffey P. (Correspondence) Abortion. Can Med Assoc J. 1970 Nov 21;103(11):1194, 1196.