Journal News Archives - Page 3 of 5 - Protection of Conscience Project Library

(News) With teen pregnancies skyrocketing, ob/gyns seek support for nonprescription “morning-after pill”

Barbara Sibbald

Canadian Medical Association Journal, CMAJ — Canadian Medical Association Journal

Extract
Support for a move to make emergency postcoital contraception available without a prescription appears to be mushrooming in Canada. The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) and 23 other medical and pharmaceutical organizations have joined the groundswell of support since the SOGC launched a campaign to increase awareness and availability of the “morning-after pill” in November 1998. . . some CPhA members feel emergency contraception “may interfere with implantation of the fertilized egg and they consider that more [like] abortion,” said Cooper. Pharmacists for Life, a Canadian group with about 10 members, has already opposed the move, even though the World Health Organization (WHO) says taking the drug is not equivalent to performing an abortion because the woman is not pregnant.

Sibbald B. With teen pregnancies skyrocketing, ob/gyns seek support for nonprescription “morning-after pill”. Can Med Assoc J. 1999 Oct 5;161(7):855.

(News) Leak of abortion information creates turmoil at Foothills

Richard Cairney

Extract

The Calgary Regional Health Authority (CRHA)has won a court judgement preserving the private, confidential nature of documents concerning genetic terminations of pregnancy that were leaked to Alberta Report by one or more angry pro-life nurses. . . .The controversy erupted after one or more members of the nursing staff at Foothills leaked confidential documents to the magazine. The resulting articles were filled with loaded language — “genetic terminations unquestionably constitute murder” and “the abortionist might well be guilty of culpable homicide” are 2 examples. . . ..

Cairney R. Leak of abortion information creates turmoil at Foothills. Can. Med. Assoc. J.. 1999;161(4):424-425.

(News) Task force offers $547,000 to solve shootings (of abortion practitioners)

Barbara Sibbald

Extract
In all, 9 police forces on both sides of the border are investigating 5 incidents that are believed to be linked. All took place around Remembrance Day, all the physicians involved performed abortions and all were shot in their homes. The injured include Dr. Garson Romalis of Vancouver (1994), Dr. Hugh Short of An- caster, Ont. (1995), an unnamed Richmond, NY, physician (1996) and Dr. Jack Fainman of Winnipeg (1997). The first fatality occurred last Oct. 23 when Slepian was shot and killed at his home. An American murder warrant has been issued for Vermont antiabortion activist James Kopp, 44. Kopp, whose whereabouts are a mystery, is charged only in the slaying of Slepian. He remains a “person of interest” in connection with the other shootings.

Sibbald B. Task force offers $547,000 to solve shootings (of abortion practitioners). Can Med Assoc J. 1999 Jun 15;160(12).

(News) US antiabortion pamphlet stirs anger north of the border

Patrick Sullivan

Extract
An American antiabortion publication that was mailed to Canadian physicians has angered many Ontario doctors and caused Queen’s University to contact police. The 32-page pamphlet, Quack the Ripper , was mailed by Life Dynamics Inc. of Denton, Texas, in March. . . the publication’s goal is to dissuade young physicians from providing abortions by insulting those who do perform them.

Sullivan P. US antiabortion pamphlet stirs anger north of the border. Can Med Assoc J. 1999;160(7):977.

(News) Police task force targets “terrorists” behind sniper-style attacks on MDs

Barbara Sibbald

Extract
Sniper-style attacks on 3 Canadian physicians are “terrorist acts,” police say,and the hunt for the attackers now involves a coordinated national effort. “This is terrorism against doctors as a whole,” says Inspector Keith McCaskill, a member of the national police task force investigating the attacks. “There may be a tendency to politicize this, but that’s not right. This is criminal activity.”

Sibbald B. Police task force targets “terrorists” behind sniper-style attacks on MDs. Can Med Assoc J. 1998 Nov 03;159(9):1153-1154.

(News) “Democracy was never intended for degenerates”: Alberta’s flirtation with eugenics comes back to haunt it

Richard Cairney

Abstract
An Alberta woman recently won a lawsuit against the government of Alberta for wrongful sterilization that took place when she was a 14-year-old ward at the Provincial Training School for Mental Defectives. It was the first time the province has been held accountable for actions taken under the Sexual Sterilization Act, a 1927 law that promoted the theory of eugenics and led to the sterilization of more than 2800 people. It has since been repealed. A physician who served on the province’s Eugenics Board said the decisions were based on the best scientific advice and medical techniques available at the time. Today, she added, eugenics is being practised in a different way through prenatal diagnosis and therapeutic abortion..

Cairney R. “Democracy was never intended for degenerates”: Alberta’s flirtation with eugenics comes back to haunt it. Can. Med. Assoc. J.. 1996;155(6):789-792.

(News) Murder-suicide involving BC doctor raises troubling questions about euthanasia

Valerie Wilson

Abstract
The deaths last September of a British Columbia physician and his wife have raised troubling questions about euthanasia and Alzheimer’s disease. Police described the deaths of Dr. Tom Powell and his wife Dr. Lorraine Miles, a retired dentist, as a murder-suicide. Friends of the couple wonder if more lenient laws concerning euthanasia and assisted suicide might have saved Miles’ life.

Wilson V. Murder-suicide involving BC doctor raises troubling questions about euthanasia. Can Med Ass J 1995 Jun 1; 152(11) 1855-1856.

Revision of Code of Ethics proving to be complicated procedure

Patrick Sullivan

Abstract
Although the CMA Code of Ethics is only a 10-page booklet, revising it is proving to be complicated and time consuming. It is currently undergoing its first major revision in 25 years in an attempt to bring it up to date with changes within the medical profession and medical practice. The work was to have been completed in time for presentation to General Council during the 1995 annual meeting, but because of its complexity and the need for consensus the revised code will not be presented to council until August 1996.

Sullivan P. Revision of Code of Ethics proving to be complicated procedure. Can Med Assoc J. 1995;152(6):934-934. Available from:

(News) Allegations of Nazi past force resignation of WMA president-elect

Patrick Sullivan

Extract
the World Medical Association (WMA) . . . recently found itself caught up in the most controversial problem in WMA history. At issue was the appointment of Dr. Hans-Joachim Sewering, 76, as the WMA’s president-elect. He was to have become president in October. Angry physicians belonging to several WMA member organizations, including the CMA, demanded that the appointment be overturned because Sewering had belonged to the Schutzstaffel, the Nazi elite guard, before World War II. . . . Sewering has been heavily involved in WMA affairs for more than 20 years.

Sullivan P. Allegations of Nazi past force resignation of WMA president-elect. Can Med Assoc J. 1995;148(6):995-996.

(News) Bombing of Toronto abortion clinic raises stakes in bitter debate

Gordon Bagley

Extract
The abortion clinic that Dr. Henry Morgentaler operated on Harbord Street in Toronto was an electronic fortress bristling with hidden cameras, burglary shock sensors and motion detectors, but the security measures were of little use last May 18. At about 3:23 on that Monday morning, a security camera filmed two shadowy characters approaching the clinic’s back door. The visitors, heavily disguised, used a drill to bore through the door lock. They poured gasoline into the clinic, let it aerosolize, and then used a Roman candle to ignite the fumes. In the resulting explosion the entire front wall of the two-storey structure shuddered, buckling building supports and flinging glass, bricks and other debris into the street. Fortunately, no one was injured – the street was deserted. Six months later, Toronto police seem no closer to finding the terrorists. . . . [lengthy article].

Bagley G. Bombing of Toronto abortion clinic raises stakes in bitter debate. Can Med Assoc J. 1992;147(10):1528-1533.