Protection of Conscience Project Library
Service, not Servitude
Extract
[Translation] It is obvious that the policy does not appeal to the majority of physicians. They would prefer a regime where the life and health of the child are respected and protected in the same way as those of the mother. It is not about a choice between the two.
de Bellefeuille P. (Correspondence) L’avortement. Can Med Assoc J. 1989;140(6):585-586.
Abstract
This paper uses the Churches’ responses to the controversy over abortion as a measure of the internalization of ecumenism. The data used in the essay include interviews with ecumenical officers and the minutes of the American Bishops Pro-life Committee. The main conclusion is that during the controversy “mainstream” Protestantism and Roman Catholicism reverted to post-Reformation and pre-Vatican II ideological roles, with Catholicism opposing under the banner of objective moral truth the legalization of abortion and liberal Protestantism under the banner of subjective conscience providing a belated religious justification to the legalization promoted first by secularist activists. This reversal to historic ideological roles actually distorted the more nuanced positions of these Churches in the controversy, but the lack of an ecumenical context obscured these shared tensions and prevented the Churches from contributing to a better public structuring of the moral ambiguities most Americans felt and still experience about abortion and the extent of its legalization. The essay concludes that only in an ecumenical context can religious pluralism lead to more inclusive moral commitments rather than to a further privatization of religion.
Kelly J. Ecumenism and Abortion: A Case Study of Pluralism, Privatization and Public Conscience. Rev Relig Res. 1989 Mar;30(3):225-235.
Extract
Rapp is using words in an incorrect way to hide from himself what is happening. An oak (or any seed) dies and the germ plasm begins to develop. A fetus is already growing and developing and, if Rapp wishes an analogy, is like a seedling.
Cody PC. (Correspondence) Potential danger. Can Med Assoc J. 1989 Jan 15;140(2):105.
Extract
The CMA’s new statement shifts the balance very heavily away from the sanctity of human life and places more emphasis on these pregnancy-related problems. Surely this is contrary to our traditional medical ethic of protecting life and curing disease. . .
The issue for our profession should be this: What is medically acceptable? We must set our standards of ethical practice. Surely we are capable of defining what is therapeutic and what is non- therapeutic in life-and-death situations. The issue here is not whether we are pro-choice or pro-life, or for or against abortion on demand. The issue is simply whether we will hold to our traditional medical ethic of protecting life and treating disease.
Knickle D. Abortion: the issue the CMA has refused to address is life. Can Med Assoc J. 1988 Nov 15;139(10):990.
Extract
Well! The CMA has certainly done the “in” thing with its resolution on abortion. . . It has never been traditional or ethical to prescribe according to the demands of the patient, whether for narcotics or for euthanasia or for abortion. Minds can change, but death is final. The resolution portrays abandonment of principle, not leadership.
Isaacs RL. (Correspondence) The CMA’s position on abortion. Can Med Assoc J. 1988 Nov 15;139(10):929.
Extract
The NBMS Board of Directors adopted an abortion policy that stated: “The issue of abortion is a personal one between the patient and the physician governed by individual conscience and the law of the land.” . . . Following a protracted and impassioned debate, the statement was adopted. Feelings were running so high that in one case an NBMS member asked another doctor if he wished to “step outside” to discuss the issue.
Blair L. Abortion issue dominates NBMS annual meeting. Can Med Assoc J. 1988;139(8):797.
Extract
The survey, which attracted responses from 443 women physicians, found that 60.3% of respondents favoured abortion without restrictions during the first trimester of a pregnancy . . 28.6% for the second trimester, and . . . 3% for pregnancies that had lasted more than 20 weeks. . . .the number . . . wanting some restrictions jumped from 37.4% for the first trimester . . . to 62.9% for the second and 64.6% for the third. Only small fractions of FMWC members – 1.4% and 2.8%, respectively – were opposed to abortion for any reason during the first two trimesters. However, this jumped to 27.1% for pregnancies that had lasted longer than 20 weeks.
Sullivan P. Women doctors favour time-dependent rules on abortion, survey reveals. Can Med Assoc J. 1988;139(7):669-670.
Extract
It was a delight to read the frank and well-written article by Dr. William G. Green (Can Med Assoc J 1988; 139: 325-326) “I have no answer to the abortion issue, but here is the question”. There has been so much heat and emotion surrounding this issue . . . We have heard too much from those at the extremes.
Simpson CA. (Correspondence) Abortion: cool common sense. Can Med Assoc J. 1988 Oct 01;139(7):612.
Extract
The approximately 230 General Council members took just over an hour to approve the proposed policy in toto, despite strenuous objections from some doctors. . . .Dr. David Knickle, a Charlottetown obstetrician who raised the loudest voice against the new policy, countered that it “simply is carte blanche abortion on demand”. However, his motion that the association “state its op- position to nontherapeutic abortions” received almost no support. . . . Dr. William MacDiarmid of Winnipeg, a member of the CMA’s Committee on Ethics, spoke against the Knickle motion, arguing that because the CMA is a reflection of society, it has to avoid taking an extreme position. “Many of us are in the middle”, he said.
Sullivan P. New abortion policy approved for CMA despite some vocal opposition. Can Med Assoc J. 1988;139(6):542-544.
Extract
In response to Dr. Myre Sim’s shopworn fulminations (Can Med Assoc 11988; 138: 742- 743), I am one doctor who has been off the fence and on firm ground for some time on the matter of abortion. . . The key to reducing the problem of ethically troublesome abortions remains quick, easy access to abortion, which includes improvement in the early identification of genetic defects. The key to reducing the numbers of abortions includes increasing awareness of the still dire need of children for information about sex, sexuality and birth control and increasing promotion of ethics as an object of study in school.
Cragg CE. (Correspondence) Abortion: it is time for doctors to get off the fence. Can Med Assoc J. 1988 Jul 16;139(2):99.