Protection of Conscience Project Library
Service, not Servitude
Extract
Canada’s comparative ranking in terms of the proportion of therapeutic abortions involving married women should not have been described as a rate. The point being made in the paragraph in question is that the proportion of women receiving abortions in Canada who are either married or in common-law relationships, about 25%, is not unique in international terms.
Buske L. (Correspondence) Abortion in proportion (The author responds). Can Med Assoc J. 1998;159(4):318.
Extract
. . . For people with genuine morals, right and wrong do not change with popular public opinion . . . Before we congratulate our society on its social evolution over the last 50 years, we should reflect on the outcome of the society in history that practised throwing people to the lions, or perhaps the society of the 1940s that practised execution of races believed to be inferior.
[Dr. Waugh planned to respond to these letters but was unable to do so before his death on Apr. 18, 1997. In this issue, CMAJ features a tribute to Waugh (page 1524) as well as an article on issues surrounding access to abortion services (page 1545). — Ed.].
Cuddy TJ. (Correspondence) Some final responses to Dr. Waugh. Can Med Assoc. J. 1997 Jun 01;156(11):1529.
Extract
We can ask ourselves: Where will we stand in 30 years if there are amendments to the Criminal Code in regard to the taking of human life, as are now being discussed? If mercy killing, physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia became legal activities — even under certain restricted guidelines — there would be inevitable progression until widespread acceptance of these practices would be accompanied by major changes in attitudes. [Dr. Waugh planned to respond to these letters but was unable to do so before his death on Apr. 18, 1997. In this issue, CMAJ features a tribute to Waugh (page 1524) as well as an article on is- sues surrounding access to abortion services (page 1545). — Ed.].
Adams PV. (Correspondence) Some final responses to Dr. Waugh. Can Med Assoc J. 1997;156(11):1529.
Extract
I too was dismayed and deeply concerned about the attack against Dr. Romalis. None the less, I must comment on Marshall and colleagues’ statement that “we abhor the use of violence in ethical debates.” These students must realize that therapeutic abortion is the only legalized medical procedure in which another human life is taken. . . Certainly the medical community should oppose violence against physicians practising in this area. Even if this perpetrator, or convicted US murderer Paul Hill, was exercising a difficult personal choice in targeting a physician who performs abortion, a violent act against a physician remains as abhorrent as abortion itself.
Shamess BA. (Correspondence) Abortion: a violent procedure? Can Med Assoc J. 1995 May 01;152(9):1376.
Extract
Dr. Hoaken brings his formidable analytic talents to bear on the problem of assaults on abortionists. Certainly the concept of “justifiable homicide” would or should be abhorrent to us all – I say this as a former soldier in World War II, in which a lot of “justifiable homicide” took place. . . .If I read his letter correctly, his plea is for a greater degree of humane tolerance than seems to prevail now. I could not agree more strongly. I believe that Drs. Fireman and Lemoine would endorse this view. Their comments on the genocidal behaviour in Nazi Germany during World War II are well taken; in an earlier draft of my manuscript I did make this comparison. . . . I believe Fireman, Lemoine and I have similar, if not identical, views on this.
Waugh D. (Correspondence) Understanding fanatics and followers (The author responds). Can Med Assoc J. 1995 Mar 15;152(6):808.
Extract
Of course methotrexate is contraindicated for a wanted pregnancy: it causes abortion in approximately 95% of pregnancies of less than 7 weeks’ gestation. This is why we are using it as an abortifacient. . . . if abortion failed in a women given methotrexate and she refused to undergo surgical abortion, there would be a risk to the fetus. From the experience with RU 486 in Europe we know that women rarely change their minds about abortion in such cases.
Wiebe ER. (Correspondence) Methotrexate and misoprostol used in abortions. Can Med Assoc J. 1994;151(5):518.
Extract
. . . methotrexate is contraindicated during pregnancy. If Wiebe and the University of British Columbia Ethics Committee have information on the safety of this drug during pregnancy perhaps they could share it with readers.
Kerigan AT. (Correspondence) Methotrexate and misoprostol used in abortions. Can Med Assoc J. 1994 Sep 01;151(5):518.
Extract
Medically induced abortion rather than surgical abortion has many advantages and could improve access to abortion in Canada . . . In December 1993 I received permission from the University of British Columbia Ethics Committee to start a pilot study of abortion induced with methotrexate and misoprostol; the study is under way. I would like to hear from other physicians who may be interested in this method.
Wiebe ER. (Correspondence) Methotrexate and misoprostol used in abortions. Can Med Assoc J. 1994 May 01;150(9):1381-1382.
Extract
. . . we all – including Reynolds – operate from a biased set of basic assumptions. Is it really antireligious to suggest that the antiabortion forces are largely motivated by fundamental religious views that represent fixed basic assumptions? We think not. . . . Medical intervention includes helping people achieve their potential according to their own objectives as well as many other “appropriate” activities, such as the therapeutic termination of pregnancy. . . .The abortion debate is not entirely about abortion or religion, nor is it even a debate. . . the argument is about the freedom of choice and the access of all Canadian women to safe, competent medical care and about the refusal of most Canadians to submit to the irrational demands of a vociferous minority. . .
Spano L, Brennan M. (Correspondence) Abortion debate continues. Can Med Assoc J. 1993 Jun 15;148(12):2112-2113.
Extract
After I read the articles on abortion in CMAJ I began to wonder if ready access to abortion is the main issue. Are we faced with a Yes-No decision, or are we looking at a symptom of something deeper? . . . The world is overpopulated, yet more and more children are being born. Despite the efforts of many dedicated people (especially women) to take information on birth con- trol to the most afflicted parts of the world, little progress is being made. All the solutions are “Band-Aid” ones, and almost all – contraceptives, abortifacients and abortion itself – are directed toward women, whose reproductive capacity is certainly the root of so much trouble. To cure these ills, nothing short of a redirection of human nature is necessary. . . .the earth’s mad population increase will surely go on to a cataclysmic end. We can put this off temporarily if we follow the Chinese example (one-child or two-children families) worldwide, with strict supervision of female reproduction.
Sutherland LE. (Correspondence) Physicians and abortion. Can Med Assoc J. 1993;148(8):1276-1277.