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Protection of Conscience Project

www.consciencelaws.org

Service, not Servitude
Periodicals & Papers

1995

Blustein J, Fleischman AR.  The pro-life maternal-fetal medicine physician. A problem of integrity. Hastings Cent Rep. 1995 Jan-Feb;25(1):22-6.   PMID: 7730046

Jeffrey Blustein, Alan R. Fleischman

  • During the course of professional practice, health care providers may find themselves in situations where they are called upon to perform actions that they cannot in good conscience do, or to omit actions that conscience dictates. Conscientious objection in such cases may be understood as motivated by a concern for one's integrity, but integrity is a complex concept and there are different ways of interpreting its requirements so as to yield different answers to the question of what sorts of actions are or are not consistent with the preservation of one's integrity. In this paper, we will focus on a particular problem of integrity that arises for certain medical specialists. The problem is whether or how a physician with prolife, antiabortion views can maintain personal integrity in the practice of maternal-fetal medicine. . .

Campbell CS, Hare J, Matthews P. Conflicts of conscience. Hospice and assisted suicide.  Hastings Cent Rep 1995 May-Jun;25(3):36-43  Oregon State University, USA. PMID: 7649744

Courtney S. Campbell, Jan Hare, Pam Matthews

  • Proposals to legalize assisted suicide challenge hospice's identity and integrity. In the wake of Measure 16, Oregon hospice programs must develop practical policies to balance traditional commitments not to hasten death and not to abandon patients with dying patients' legal right to request lethal prescriptions.

Dellinger AM, Vickery AM. When staff object to participating in care. J Health Hosp Law 1995 Sep-Oct;28(5):269-85  PMID: 10156293

 

Orr W.  Abortion reform: imperative or outrageous?  (Editorial) Afr Med J 1995 Mar;85(3):139-140 (News) .  PMID: 7777990

Wendy Orr

  • The topic of abortion is one which gives rise to argument whenever and wherever it is raised. There tend to be two standpoints on abortion. The first sees it as a moral or religious issue, with proponents arguing that abortion is murder. The second sees it as a human rights issue, arguing that particular groups with certain moral or religious beliefs do not have the right to impose those beliefs on others who do not share those views. Because of these two directly opposing views, it has become extremely difficult to discuss abortion in a rational and constructive way. Debates become heated and vitriolic and no one takes the issue forward in a beneficial way. In South Africa, the time has come to move that debate forward constructively and to look at abortion as a health issue, which affects thousands of women and, indirectly, men. . .

Saunders C. In Britain: fewer conflicts of conscience. Hastings Cent Rep 1995 May-Jun;25(3):44-5 Comment in: Hastings Cent Rep. 1996 May-Jun;26(3):2-3.  PMID: 7544328

Dame Cicely Saunders

  • The thoughtful paper by Campbell and colleagues raises questions in a different context from the practice of hospice and palliative care in the United Kingdom. The debate on the issues of euthanasia and, more recently, physician-assisted suicide, has been going on for many years in this country, as it has in the United States. So far, in spite of the strong lobby of the Voluntary Euthanasia Society, there have been no changes in the law in the United Kingdom.

Smith J. Abortion- a debate.  (Editorial) Afr Med J 1995 Mar;85(3):137-139.  PMID: 7777990

J. Smith

  • The wave of abortion-on-demand legislation sweeping the world has reached our shores. The first blows to the concept of the sanctity of human life are being dealt at a time when health care in South Africa is undergoing tremendous upheaval. This concept may be irreparably damaged if the present Abortion and Sterilisation Act of 1975 is changed. A recent consensus opinion' from the Bioethics Centre at the University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital suggested that the Act be changed and made less restrictive when ongoing pregnancy poses a serious threat to the mother's permanent mental health. Presumably this change would be a step towards improving the health care and lives of women during their reproductive years. . .

Teubl WP.  Abortion counseling and physician conscience. HMO Pract 1995 Jun;9(2):69-70   PMID: 10143159

 

Tadd V. Ethics: moral objections. Nurs Stand 1995 Mar 8-14;9(24):54  PMID: 7727235

 

Tammelleo AD.  Male nurse violates "Right of Conscience" act. Regan Rep Nurs Law 1995 Jun;36(1):1 (Legal Case)  PMID: 7617885