Protection of Conscience Project Library
Service, not Servitude
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The “will of the people, as expressed through Parliament,” does not make abortion right any more than bashing old ladies on the head would be if made “legal” in this way. Moreover, for those of us who oppose abortion it is more than a matter of conscience. It is a very positive conviction that abortion is wrong.
Hooker D. (Correspondence) A question of conscience. Br Med J. 1976;2(6027):108.
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Mr R Walley’s “Personal Paper” (12 June, p 1456) shocked me profoundly. Those of us who recall the policy of appointing to mental institutions in Nazi Germany only those doctors prepared to take part in “euthanasia” of mentally defectives must recoil from the implications of the policy he encountered.
Versteeg L. (Correspondence) A question of conscience. Br Med J. 1976;2(6026):43.
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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.
Extract
R Walley’s article (12 June, p 1456) makes sad reading, for he is both illogical and, if I may say so, a little selfish. The will of the people, as expressed through Parliament, now lays down that certain abortion facilities shall be provided in the NHS, and the area health authorities have the duty to see that this regulation is implemented. In all fairness, it is wrong of Mr Walley to object if the authorities prefer to engage staff who are willing to comply with the current service requirements.
Salm R. (Correspondence) A question of conscience. Br Med J. 1976;1(6025):1593b.
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It was indeed a surprise to be informed by an eminent professor, after a hospital interview, that as a Roman Catholic gynaecologist “there is no place for you to practise within the National Health Service.” One had always assumed, quite naively it seems, that the British “system” is based on fair play and, above all, respect for the individual conscience. It soon became quite obvious that in order to stay in the specialty in Britain I would have had to change a conscientiously held abhorrence to the direct taking of human life. I chose to leave country, home, and family in order to practise medicine in full freedom of conscience.
Walley R. A question of conscience. Br. Med. J.. 1976;1(6023):1456-1458.
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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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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.
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Wilkins R. (Correspondence) Abortion and Promiscuity. Br Med J. 1975 Jul 26;3(5977):233.