Abortion Archives - Page 26 of 51 - Protection of Conscience Project Library

(Correspondence) CPL poll on abortion angers many physicians

Myre Sim

Canadian Medical Association Journal, CMAJ — Canadian Medical Association Journal

Extract
What kind of society does Klein advocate that would prevent questions from being put to the medical profession because they do not reflect his own bias? The physicians and surgeons polled were very much aware of the abortion issue and were not likely to be influenced by a loaded opinion poll. The fact that 16% of the 50 000 physicians who were polled responded suggests that a considerable number of Canadian doctors are willing to have their views recorded, and the fact that 68% were critical of CMA policy indicates that several thousand doctors are not in favour of it. Compare the 40 to 50 letters received by the CMA concerning the poll, most of which urged the CMA to ignore the poll results and to confirm the present policy.

Sim M. (Correspondence) CPL poll on abortion angers many physicians. Can Med Assoc J. 1990 Jan 1;142(1).

(Correspondence) When passion displaces logic (Dr. Waugh responds)

Douglas Waugh

Extract
Unlike Dr. Heaton I am a born-again nonbeliever and therefore do not accept his version of where it all begins. With that as a “given” my logic is flawless, as is his with a different “given”. Unhappily, the two positions remain irreconcilable.

Waugh D. (Correspondence) When passion displaces logic (Dr. Waugh responds). Can Med Assoc J. 1990 Jan 01;142(1):12.

(Correspondence) Induced abortion

AJ Cunningham

Extract
I believe that playing with words such as embryo and fetus to justify destroying human life is hogwash. If there was not money in it, how many abortions would be done? The CMA policy summary on induced abortion (Can Med Assoc J 1988; 139: 1176A) recommends that there be no discrimination directed against doctors who do not assist in abortions, but there is such discrimination. On three occasions I have been asked to suppress my beliefs on abortion as a condition of employment and had to turn down jobs. Mind you, I have to suppress some revulsion working with colleagues who perform abortions, as I would if I had to associate with Clifford Olsen. But, as with our patients, we may not approve of their lifestyles, but we have to accept them as human beings.

Cunningham AJ. (Correspondence) Induced abortion. Can Med Assoc J. 1989 Nov 01;141(9):869.

(Correspondence) Induced abortion

PG Coffey

Extract
If a mother decided to kill her newborn baby everyone would be shocked, but if she decides to kill the fetus before birth, say at 20 weeks, half of the country cheers.

Coffey PG. (Correspondence) Induced abortion. Can Med Assoc J. 1989 Nov 01;141(9):869-870.

(News) Canadian Physicians for Life poll angers many physicians

Patrick Sullivan

Extract
A recent survey of physicians’ opinions about abortion is proving to be almost as controversial as the abortion issue itself. The poll, which cost about $30,000 to conduct, was mailed to approximately 50, 000 doctors in August by an antiabortion organization called Canadian Physicians for Life (CPL). . . By mid-August both CMAJ and the CMA had begun receiving letters critical of the poll. “This is not a survey, this is a propaganda piece”, stated Dr. Michael Klein, a professor of family medicine at McGill University. . . A less angry, though equally critical, letter was sent by Dr. Peter Magner of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary. He said that CPL makes a “quite reasonable argument” that CMA members should be allowed to have their views reflected in association policy statements, but adds: “I was therefore dismayed by the gross bias of the accompanying multiple-choice questionnaire. . . .”

Sullivan P. Canadian Physicians for Life poll angers many physicians. Can Med Assoc J. 1989;141(7):705-706.

When passion displaces logic

Douglas Waugh

Extract
An ancient Chinese curse, “may you live in interesting times”, may turn out to be punishment for some of our misdeeds as the 20th century draws to a close. . . . Unless our society is willing to accept a compromise between the humane aspirations of pro- choice and the species priority of pro-life, we may be doomed to continue the cyclic alternation of dominant conservative and then liberal forces, as has been the case during the last several centuries. These interesting times may indeed be a curse.

Waugh D. When passion displaces logic. Can Med Assoc J. 1989 Oct 01;141(7):707.

(News) Attempts to change abortion policy find little support at annual meeting

Patrick Sullivan

Extract
the most heated debate at the 122nd annual meeting didn’t come until its dying hours, when the abortion issue was raised in three separate recommendations put forward under new business. . . .The first recommendation, and the one that received the loudest criticism, was . . .”that many Canadian physicians do not agree with the 1988 CMA recommendations regarding induced abortion . . . the amended version was defeated by a large margin. . . . A recommendation that the CMA reassess its policy on induced abortion “with specific direction that the rights of the unbom child be considered” was referred to the Committee on Ethics, which is already working to establish a CMA policy on fetal rights.

Sullivan P. Attempts to change abortion policy find little support at annual meeting. Can Med Assoc J. 1989;141(6):585-596, 588, 590. Available from:

(Correspondence) The psychologic effects of spontaneous abortion

Paul de Bellefeuille

Extract
It is good that in their sympathetic article (Can Med Assoc J 1989; 140: 799-801, 805) Drs. Ruth Stirtzinger and G. Erlick Robinson remind us that “for [the mother] this has been the loss of a baby”. But in their review they incidentally say that in a group of women described by Simon and associates’ “there were no reported cases of psychiatric symptoms attributable to therapeutic abortion [emphasis mine]”. This statement is not made in the article quoted. Simon and associates wrote that “the amount of psychopathology seen following spontaneous abortion over the same 10 year follow-up period is minor when compared to the therapeutic abortion group”.

de Bellefeuille P. (Correspondence) The psychologic effects of spontaneous abortion. Can. Med. Assoc. J.. 1989;141(6):508-511.

(Correspondence) “Universal” moral principles

Wendell W Watters

Extract
Apart from such simple principles as the Golden Rule and the Greatest Good for the Greatest Number of People, what universal moral principles are there? Apparently Lemoine’s value system would compel unwilling pregnant women to become mothers against their will (the view of the Roman Catholic Church and other antichoice groups); this is in direct opposition to the position that couples should be allowed to regulate their own reproductivity, the view of the United Nations declaration on family planning, to which Canada was a signatory. Neither of these moral positions is universal or based on absolutes. The first arose out of the Christian Church’s desire to implement policies of demographic aggression against all other groups. The second arose in this century out of our collective appreciation that such policies may spell extinction for all forms of life on this planet. Many of the bloodiest episodes in history came about as a result of one group’s seeking to impose “universal” moral principles on others.

Watters WW. (Correspondence) “Universal” moral principles. Can Med Assoc J. 1989 May 01;140(9):1016.

(Correspondence) Abortion

Philip E Shea

Extract
In his article “Abortion: The CMA’s new policy is a good one” (Can Med AssocJ 1988; 139: 991) Dr. John Lamont misinterprets the Catholic Church’s constant moral teaching on this critical issue. The misinformation could promote prejudice against Catholics who uphold the traditional doctrine that abortion at any stage is a serious sin against God, the creator of all human life. Lamont’s pontifical reference could not have been authenticated by a qualified Catholic scholar.

Shea PE. (Correspondence) Abortion. Can Med Assoc J. 1989 Apr 1;140(7):789.