Law Archives - Page 30 of 39 - Protection of Conscience Project Library

(News) Dr. Robbie Mahood: Pro-choice physician says doctors have a duty to speak out

Patrick Sullivan

Canadian Medical Association Journal, CMAJ — Canadian Medical Association Journal

Extract
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:

Abortion: it is time for doctors to get off the fence

Myre Sim

Extract
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.

(News) New committee will review CMA’s abortion policy, board decides

Lucian Blair

Extract
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.

Artificial Reproduction and Child Custody

Bernard M Dickens

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.

Prenatal diagnosis and female abortion: a case study in medical law and ethics

Bernard M Dickens

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.

Professions as the conscience of society

Paul Sieghart

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.

Abortion (Policy Statement)

Canadian Medical Association

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.

Conscientious objection: a constitutional right

Frederick L Brown, Stephen M Kohn, Michael D Kohn

Brown FL, Kohn SM, Kohn MD. Conscientious objection: a constitutional right. New England Law Review. 1985;21: 545-569

Civil disobedience, conscientious objection, and evasive noncompliance: a framework for the analysis and assessment of illegal actions in health care

James F Childress

Abstract
This essay explores some of the conceptual and moral issues raised by illegal actions in health care. The author first identifies several types of illegal action, concentrating on civil disobedience, conscientious objection or refusal, and evasive noncompliance. Then he sketches a framework for the moral justification of these types of illegal action. Finally, he applies the conceptual and normative frameworks to several major cases of illegal action in health care, such as “mercy killing” and some decisions not to treat incompetent patients.

Childress JF. Civil disobedience, conscientious objection, and evasive noncompliance: a framework for the analysis and assessment of illegal actions in health care. J Med Philos. 1985 Feb 01;10(1):63-83.

Conscientious objection

Pedro F Silva-Ruiz

Extract
The main purpose of this paper is to summarize the legal status of conscientious objectors in the United States. To accomplish it we would briefly state a background of the law of conscientious objection in the United States and then analyze the current factual situation. . . . The registration has been reinstated by the President of the United States recently and, although no draft has been called, it remains a very real possibility, especially since the volunteer army has not proven satisfactory.51 Should Congress abolish the exemption to bear arms, the important question the Court’s would face is whether or not conscientious objection to war, to a particular conflict or to all, is a right recognized and protected by the Constitution of the United States.

Silva-Ruiz PF. Conscientious objection. Am J Comp Law. 1982 Dec 1;30 Supp 1982:427-437.