Safe havens for addicted mothers CMAJ 1997;157:1202 Re: Bioethics for clinicians: 12. Ethical dilemmas that arise in the care of pregnant women: rethinking "maternal–fetal conflicts", by Elizabeth Flagler, Françoise Baylis and Sanda Rodgers, CMAJ 1997;156:1729-32 [full text / résumé] See response from: E. Flagler I confess to a longstanding suspicion that "ethicists" are simply individuals with strongly held opinions concerning right or wrong, an impression confirmed by this article. The article included the following among its lines of reasoning: The law says you must do something and therefore it is ethical. There cannot be opposition between the interests of the fetus­mother dyad but there can be opposition between the interests of the newborn­mother dyad. State intervention to protect someone is hypocritical unless all societal evils are addressed at the same time. I strongly support abortion rights for women but am still undecided on the issues surrounding fetal­maternal rights. This article simply stated one side of that debate. There is no doubt that this article is an opinion piece. It should have been published as an editorial, not within your Education section. Derryck H. Smith, MD Clinical Professor Department of Psychiatry University of British Columbia Head Department of Psychiatry BC's Children's Hospital Vancouver, BC Send a letter to the editor responding to this letter Envoyez une lettre à la rédaction au sujet de cette lettre | CMAJ November 1, 1997 (vol 157, no 9) / JAMC le 1er novembre 1997 (vol 157, no 9) |