Protection of Conscience Project Library
Service, not Servitude
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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.
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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.
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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.
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While physicians opposed to abortion have responded with articles . . . most doctors from the pro-choice side have remained quiet. Dr. Robbie Mahood is an exception. . . . “I certainly don’t support abortion as a method of birth control”. Has the abortion issue creat- ed divisions in the medical profession? “Certainly there is disagreement within the profession about this, but this probably reflects the division within the general population”, Mahood said. “I would guess that there is a pro-choice majority [among physicians].”
Sullivan P. Dr. Robbie Mahood: Pro-choice physician says doctors have a duty to speak out. Can Med Assoc J. 1988;138(8):734. Available from:
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When Germany occupied Holland during the Second World War, it declared that it would introduce its Nuremberg Laws. They allowed for the sterilization and liquidation of the “unfit” and other acts that were later declared crimes against humanity. . . .Dutch physicians declared that they had to accept the fact they were living in an occupied country during wartime and were, therefore, bound by certain laws, but they reaffirmed their responsibility to respect all human life. They would not yield on the issue. . . . Dutch doctors preserved their ethical code. . . .[a] medical procedure [that] involves the destruction of human life. . . strikes at the roots of medical ethics: respect for human life. I consider abortion on demand the precursor of euthanasia on demand. . . Are doctors to wait to see which way things are going before they decide which path to follow, or should they take a lead in restoring honour to the profession?
Sim M. Abortion: it is time for doctors to get off the fence. Can Med Assoc J. 1988 Apr 15;138(8):742-743.
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The CMA will establish an ad hoc committee to review the association’s abortion policy in the wake of the Supreme Court of Canada’s Jan. 28 ruling that over- turned Criminal Code restrictions on abortion.
Blair L. (News) New committee will review CMA’s abortion policy, board decides. Can Med Assoc J. 1988;138(7):643.
This article considers general principles of child custody law in regard to children born following artificial reproduction that employed donated sperm, ova
or embryos, and the law applicable when women give birth to children conceived in order to be surrendered to others (notably their biological fathers). Claims to parental rights raise the issue of who the legal parents are, and may conflict with the apparent best interests of such children and the state’s view of its responsibility. The article considers interests of the unconceived child, the embryo and fetus in utero, the embryo extra uterum and a child born of donation, and the status of sperm, ovum and embryo donors and of “surrogate” mothers. Particular attention is given to the Ontario Law Reform Commission’s Report on Human Artificial Reproduction and Related Matters (1985), which is the first Canadian report to make wide-ranging recommendations on these issues .
Dickens B. Artificial Reproduction and Child Custody. Can Bar Rev 1987 Mar; 66(1): 49-75.
Abstract
Alarm over the prospect that prenatal diagnostic techniques, which permit identification of fetal sex and facilitate abortion of healthy but unwanted female fetuses has led some to urge their outright prohibition. This article argues against that response. Prenatal diagnosis permits timely action to preserve and enhance the life and health of fetuses otherwise endangered, and, by offering assurance of fetal normality, may often encourage continuation of pregnancies otherwise vulnerable to termination. Further, conditions in some societies may sometimes render excusable the inclination to abort certain healthy female fetuses. In places where abortion for fetal sex alone is recognised as unethical, however, medical licensing authorities already possess the power to discipline, for professional misconduct, physicians who prescribe or perform prenatal diagnosis purely to identify fetal sex, or those who disclose fetal sex when that is unrelated to the fetus’s medical condition.
Dickens BM. Prenatal diagnosis and female abortion: a case study in medical law and ethics. J Med Ethics 1986 Sep; 12(3): 143-144.
Abstract
Ethics is no less of a science than any other. It has its roots in conflicts of interest between human beings, and in their conflicting urges to behave either selfishly or altruistically. Resolving such conflicts leads to the specification of rules of conduct, often expressed in terms of rights and duties. In the special case of professional ethics, the paramount rule of conduct is altruism in the service of a ‘noble’ cause, and this distinguishes true professions from other trades or occupations. If professional ethics come into conflict with national laws, the professional today can test the legitimacy of such laws by reference to internationally agreed legal standards in the field of human rights, and so help to perform the role of ‘professions as the conscience of society’.
Sieghart P. Professions as the conscience of society. J Med Ethics. 1985 Sep;11(3):117-122.
Abstract
The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) recognizes that there is justification for abortion on medical and nonmedical socioeconomic grounds and that such an elective surgical procedure should be decided upon by the patient and the physician(s) concerned. Ideally, the service should be available to all women on an equitable basis across Canada. CMA has recommended the removal of all references to hospital therapeutic abortion committees as outlined in the Criminal Code of Canada. The Criminal Code would then apply only to the performance of abortion by persons other than qualified physicians or in facilities other than approved or accredited hospitals. The Canadian Medical Association is opposed to abortion on demand or its use as a birth control method, emphasizing the importance of counselling services, family planning facilities and services, and access to contraceptive information. . . the association also supports the position that no hospital, physician or other health care worker should be compelled to participate in the provision of abortion services if it is contrary to their beliefs or wishes. CMA also recommended that a patient should be informed of physicians’ moral or religious views restricting their recommendation for a particular form of therapy.
Canadian_Medical_Association. Abortion (Policy Statement). Can Med Assoc J. 1985 Aug 15;133(4):318.