Law Archives - Page 33 of 39 - Protection of Conscience Project Library

(Correspondence) The Canadian abortion law

PG Coffey

Canadian Medical Association Journal, CMAJ — Canadian Medical Association Journal

Extract
The main thrust of the letter by Drs. Cohen, Rapson and Watters (Can Med Assoc J 114: 593, 1976) is that abortion is good medicine and should not be denied to certain groups of citizens. I think, on the other hand, that liberalized abortion is bad medicine and should be curtailed rather than encouraged. . . . It is becoming increasingly clear that abortion is a hazardous operation with far-reaching effects. . . . After some years abortion tends to be used as a birth control measure. Many women have more than one abortion. Legalizing abortion may not reduce greatly the illegal practice of it and some reports have shown that it has increased this practice.

Coffey PG. (Correspondence) The Canadian abortion law. Can Med Assoc J. 1976 Aug 07;115(3):213, 216.

(Correspondence) A question of conscience

Herbert H Pilling

British Medical Journal, BMJ — British Medical Journal

Extract
Some of your correspondents on this subject seem to be ignoring the fact that the NHS Acts and Regulations impose upon all doctors employed in the Health Service a duty to make available to their patients any treatment which their condition may warrant, and in certain cases one such treatment is the termination of pregnancy. These cases are defined in the Abortion Act 1967 and the clear implication of section 1 (1) of that Act, taken in conjunction with the general duty outlined above, is that a doctor must consider whether any patient requesting a termination of pregnancy falls within the criteria set out in the Act, and if so he must make the appropriate treatment available to her. He need not, however, participate in the treatment.

Pilling HH. (Correspondence) A question of conscience. Br Med J. 1976;2(6029):234-235.

(Correspondence) A question of conscience

JM Alston

Extract
The account which Mr Walley gave of the pressure put on him to agree to carry out abortion against his conscience is a more fully explained example of this method of appointing consultant gynaecologists than others recorded before. . . Whether a candidate believes that abortions should be on demand or restricted, he should answer the questions put to Mr Walley by saying, “I shall do what I think is right and best for each patient.” . . .Can the Department convince anyone that it will suppress dragooning of the kind that Mr. Walley and others have experienced, or should the Minister be taken to court for making a directive which takes away the benefit to Mr. Walley and others of the conscientious objection clause of the 1967 Abortion Act ?

Alston J. (Correspondence) A question of conscience. Br Med J. 1976;2(6026):43.

(Correspondence) The Canadian abortion law

Wendell W Watters, May Cohen, Linda Rapson

Extract
It is obvious even to the federal government that there is a paucity of information on how the Canadian abortion law is working. . . .From the Statistics Canada figures, only one third of eligible hospitals in Canada have therapeutic abortion committees – on paper. In fact, the figures are even lower. . . .an estimated 78 hospitals out of the 258 were essentially nonoperational as far as abortions were concerned. . . Many hospitals place unofficial quotas on the number of abortions performed . . .Physicians on the staffs of many hospitals have little input into hospital policy regarding abortion. . .a large number of Canadian women are unable to obtain this type of medical care in their own communities and are forced to travel great distances in Canada or go to the United States at their own expense. The law clearly discriminates against women who are poor, the group most often in need of this kind of help.

Watters WW, Cohen M, Rapson L. (Correspondence) The Canadian abortion law. Can Med Assoc J. 1976 Apr 03;114(7):593.

(Correspondence) The Morgentaler case

George Carruthers

Extract
Why should an unreasonable jury have the unchecked power to make decisions against the law and the evidence? In my view the court’s power to order a new trial may be inadequate to control a perverse jury. Would justice be served by the unchecked power of juries in Eire refusing to convict IRA murderers, or of all-white juries in the southern United States refusing to convict whites of murdering blacks, or of juries in Sicily regularly discharging members of the Mafia? . . . Morgentaler, I believe, has been justly imprisoned.

Carruthers G. (Correspondence) The Morgentaler case. Can Med Assoc J. 1975 Nov 08;113(9):818.

(Correspondence) The Morgentaler case

Peter N Coles

Extract
I believe that the statement authorized by the Board of Directors after the meeting of General Council regarding our colleague Dr. Henry Morgentaler shows professional bias and unclear thinking tempered with extreme conservatism. . . .The fact that anyone, for whatever charge, can be acquitted twice by a jury and still be in jail is hard to comprehend. The fact that the appeal courts overturned the jury’s verdict and passed sentence without ordering a new trial is a threat to everyone’s liberty.

Coles PN. (Correspondence) The Morgentaler case. Can Med Assoc J. 1975 Aug 09;113(3):181.

(Points from Letters) Abortion (Amendment) Bill

JB Clarke

Extract
Medical ethics are the collective conscience of the profession. It is axiomatic of a profession that its ethical standards are decided by its members. A profession sets a standard of conduct for its members and the essence of professional freedom for a doctor is his right to act in professional matters uninfluenced by any consideration other than the judgement of his fellows.

Clarke J. (Points from Letters) Abortion (Amendment) Bill. Br Med J. 1975 Aug 09;3(5979):373.

(Correspondence) Abortion and Promiscuity

RG Wilkins

Extract
To refuse to terminate a pregnancy on a matter of conscience is both legally and ethically acceptable, as is a refusal in the absence of the requisite medical, psychiatric, and social indications. But to refuse a termination because the continuation of the pregnancy is held to be a valid means of managing a behavioural disorder, “promiscuity,” is a more questionable matter. In such circumstances the continuation of the pregnancy becomes a therapeutic procedure for which valid consent must surely be obtained.

Keywords:

Wilkins R. (Correspondence) Abortion and Promiscuity. Br Med J. 1975 Jul 26;3(5977):233.

Abortion Conscience Clauses

Marc D Stern

Columbia Journal of Law & Social Problems

Extract
Despite the rulings in Roe and Doe, physicians, nurses, and denominational hospitals opposed to abortions have continued to refuse to perform them. They have argued that Roe and Doe, as judicial interpretations of the fourteenth amendment, do not apply to private activity, and that in any event the free exercise clause protects those who, for religious or moral reasons, object to abortion. These claims are not without difficulties. . . . Since Roe and Doe, Congress and many state legislatures have enacted laws to protect both institutions and individuals who refuse to participate in abortions for religious or moral reasons. These so-called “conscience clauses” limit the power of the courts to compel the performance of abortion where a refusal to participate is religiously or morally based. This article will explore the problems these statutes raise. The conclusion reached is that, for the most part, well-drafted conscience amendments are constitutional.

Stern MD. Abortion Conscience Clauses. Columbia J Law Soc Probl. 1975 Summer;11(4):571-627.

(Correspondence) Abortion (Amendment) Bill

MBH Wilson

Extract
Every woman has indeed a right to compassion and medical care in unwanted pregnancy, and every fetus has a right to be considered. . .It is very difficult to believe that the enormous number of induced abortions since the Abortion Act became law has only replaced abortions which would have occurred anyway. . .When the Abortion Act was passed my voice was not heard speaking against it. This was because it appeared to put on paper the indications for termination which were already accepted by many gynaecologists who were never prosecuted. It seemed to me logical that the written law should correspond with the law as administered. It was with surprise that I observed the Act’s effects on my own patients. A number of pregnant women requested terminations when I knew that such a course would formerly have been against their principles. The Act had affected their consciences.

Wilson M. (Correspondence) Abortion (Amendment) Bill. Br Med J. 1975 Jul 12;3(5975):99.