CW Kok
Extract
. . . A common error made by physicians is that they assume a responsibility that is not theirs. When a healthy woman becomes pregnant it is her responsibility and it is certainly not the duty of the physician to terminate the pregnancy. . . . .
. . . If it is a depression one has to treat the depression, not the pregnancy. We are using the wrong diagnosis to escape from a difficult decision. To justify an abortion one must be sure that health will be permanently damaged, as in a patient with chronic nephritis or one at risk of heart failure. . . .
. . . .The lack of guiding principles has created a very disturbing situation. A most disturbing thought is that those who are unwanted can be disposed of. This happened to the Jews in Nazi Germany and it happens in all totalitarian states. . . .Throughout history, people were first dehumanized, not regarded as people, then used or killed. . .
. . . Physicians’ attention must be focused on preventing the occurrence of those situations in which abortion may be justifiable. . . The Oath of Hippocrates should serve as a means of drawing the members of the medical profession together irrespective of religious or philosophical differences. As it is now, we are the passive onlookers of a debate between fanatically rigid groups.
Kok C. (Correspondence) Unwanted pregnancy and abortion. Can Med Assoc J. 1975 Feb 22;112(4):419-420.