Morning after pill Archives - Page 10 of 10 - Protection of Conscience Project Library

(News) Matters of principle; AMA favors reproductive rights access but says providers can’t be forced to violate conscience

Deanna Bellandi,Elizabeth Thompson

Extract
After Roman Catholic leaders issued strong criticism about its trampling of religious freedom, the American Medical Association approved a watered-down measure supporting continued community access to a full range of reproductive services following hospital consolidations. The AMA’s amended resolution stopped short of saying Catholic hospitals should have to perform all reproductive health procedures. . . The AMA instead upheld its policy that physicians and hospitals not be forced to perform services that violate their moral principles. . .

Bellandi D, Thompson E. Matters of principle; AMA favors reproductive rights access but says providers can’t be forced to violate conscience. Mod Healthcare 2000 Jun 19; 30(25): 6,14.

(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.

Conscience clause: moral compromise

Chris Thatcher

Extract
Ask your pharmacist: It’s the ubiquitous slogan of the past decade, underscoring the campaigns of most national and provincial pharmacy organizations as they promote the value of pharmacy services. But what if the question is about RU-486, the abortion drug, or Preven, the morning-after-pill? What if the question is from a physician seeking information on terminal sedation or assisted suicide?

Such questions push, and often breach, an ethical boundary for some pharmacists, who find their desire to help the patient in conflict with their moral convictions. And the ethical quagmire is likely to get deeper as advocacy groups press the federal government to allow physician-assisted suicide and various health organizations promote greater access to emergency postcoital contraception.

If these practices compromise your moral convictions, could you be fired by your employer for refusing to fill a prescription? More specifically, is there a point at which your personal beliefs supersede your obligation to the patient? That’s the difficult question posed by an Alberta-based group called Concerned Pharmacists for Conscience, which has suggested a conscience clause to protect pharmacists in such situations.

Thatcher C. Conscience clause: moral compromise. Can Pharm J. 1999;132(7):10-11

Abortion: 1. Definitions and implications

Bernard M Dickens

Summary
Discusses the difference between definitions in the Criminal Code and regulations promulgated by provincial authorities. Notes that post-coital interception (IUD or pharmaceuticals) may be considered abortions. “The problem may become more acute when ‘morning-after’ contraception and menstrual self-regulation with pills and suppositories become widely available. Recent legislation in New Zealand has established that pregnancy begins not with fertilization but with implantation.6 To keep legitimate contraception from coming under the abortion law in Canada we should make a similar provision. However, the recommendation made in August 1980 by the general council of the United Church of Canada – to decriminalize abortion within the first 20 weeks of pregnancy – may be the best solution.”

Dickens BM. Abortion: 1. Definitions and implications. Can Med Assoc J. 1981;124(2):113-114.

Correction

[CMAJ] An error appeared in the editorial by Dr. Bernard M. Dickens in the Jan. 15, 1980 issue of the Journal. The second sentence in the second column should read (with the correction in italics): “Furthermore, if the life of the unborn child is deliberately ended after labour begins but before it has an existence outside the mother’s body, the act is considered child destruction, which is lawlul when it is done to save the mother’s life (section 221 [2]).” We apologize to Dr. Dickens for this oversight.

Dickens BM. Abortion:1. Definitions and implications [correction]. Can Med Assoc J. 1981;124(7):854.

(Correspondence) The “morning-after” pill

Michael J Ball

Extract
Since my earlier letter in the August 7 issue of the Journal, (p. 240) some additional information has been received which supports the use of the “morning after pill.” Sarrel at Yale reports only one pregnancy in about 1000 cases given 50 mg. of diethylstilbestrol daily for five days within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse.

Ball MJ. (Correspondence) The “morning-after” pill. Can Med Assoc J. 1971;105(7):691.

(Correspondence) The “morning-after pill”

Michael J Ball

Extract
A course of post-coital estrogens, in adequate dosage, is a highly effective and safe (though misnamed) form of post-coital contraception that deserves to be more widely known and prescribed. Both unwanted pregnancies and the demand for abortion could be reduced by its widespread use in emergency situations.

Ball MJ. (Correspondence) The “morning-after pill”. Can Med Assoc J. 1971;105(3):240.