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INTRODUCTION
AUTHOR/ARTICLE INFORMATION
REFERENCES
INTRODUCTION
AUTHOR/ARTICLE INFORMATION
REFERENCES
INTRODUCTION
AUTHOR/ARTICLE INFORMATION
REFERENCES
INTRODUCTION
AUTHOR/ARTICLE INFORMATION
REFERENCES
INTRODUCTION
AUTHOR/ARTICLE INFORMATION
REFERENCES
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JAMA, Abortion, and Editorial
Responsibility
George D. Lundberg, MD
JAMA is, among other things, a forum for open
discussion of matters relevant to the field of medicine, a place for responsible,
balanced debate for the education of readers, primarily physicians, to help
meet the overall mission of advancing the art and science of medicine and
the betterment of public health. The members of the American Medical Association
(AMA) (nearly 300000 or nearly 40% of US licensed physicians and medical students)
are the owners of JAMA, and they, along with nonmember physicians through
their representatives in the federation of American medicine (the House of
Delegates representing 95% of US physicians), have consistently supported
the editorial freedom of JAMA to operate within an approved set of
goals and objectives.1
This freedom, with responsibility and accountability, allows us
to publish articles affecting medical practice representing various points
of view no matter how onerous, inflammatory, or divisive the subject. Anchored
to that knowledge, we plunge into one of medicine's (and life's) most controversial
issues: abortion. In this issue of THE JOURNAL, we publish 3 major articles
on late-term pregnancy termination.2-4 One is a scientific
discourse with abundant references; the other 2 comprise a deliberate point-counterpoint
debate of the controversy featuring 2 leading obstetrician-gynecologists;
none necessarily represent AMA policy.
Few subjects boil the blood of people in general, and some physicians
in particular, as rapidly and surely as does abortion. JAMA has published
many articles about abortion
including articles about science,5 methods,6, 7 clinical practice,8, 9 research,10, 11 hazards,12 ethics,13, 14 law,15 public opinion,16 international aspects,17 AMA positions,18 and special considerations for physicians.19,
20 But, during my tenure as editor, JAMA
has taken no editorial position on abortion, late-term or otherwise.
Americans are constitutionally guaranteed religious freedom. This
editor considers abortion to be a religious issue
a decision to be reached by the pregnant woman, after consultation with
the father (if possible), members of her family, perhaps a religious adviser,
and the woman's physician. I believe that one woman's abortion is not the
business of police, lawyers, courts, the US Department of Health and Human
Services, the Congress of the United States, various state legislatures, or
anybody else except the individuals named above. This editor has not performed
an abortion and believes that he could not. Abortion is killing
regardless of length or stage of gestation. However, as a practical matter,
this editor recognizes that abortion is considered necessary by many people
on a situational basis and that many abortions will be done, often unrelated
to what beliefs may have been held previously by the participants and regardless
of any laws.
We hope that you, the reader, will find the 3 articles on late-term
pregnancy termination informative, interesting, and useful. We anticipate
a flood of protests from many points of view on this issue. Nonetheless,
we believed it important for JAMA to serve again as a forum for responsible
discussion and debate on even this troubling and divisive issue.
Author/Article Information
Dr Lundberg is Editor, JAMA.
Reprints: George D. Lundberg, MD, American Medical Association, 515 N
State St, Chicago, IL 60610 (e-mail: George_Lundberg@ama-assn.org).
Editorials represent the opinions of the authors and The Journal
and not those of the American Medical Association
REFERENCES
1.
Lundberg GD.
House of Delegates reaffirms editorial independence for AMA's scientific
journals.
JAMA.
1993;270:380-381.
MEDLINE
2.
Gans Epner JE, Jonas HS, Seckinger DL.
Late-term abortion.
JAMA.
1998;280:724-729.
MEDLINE
3.
Sprang ML.
Rationale for banning abortions late in pregnancy.
JAMA.
1998;280:744-747.
MEDLINE
4.
Grimes DA.
The continuing need for late abortion.
JAMA.
1998;280:747-750.
MEDLINE
5.
Council on Scientific Affairs, Medical Association.
Induced termination of pregnancy before and after Roe v Wade: trends
in mortality and morbidity of women.
JAMA.
1992;268:3231-3239.
MEDLINE
6.
Creinin MD, Vittinghoff E.
Methotrexate and misoprostol vs misoprostol alone for early abortion.
JAMA.
1994;272:1190-1195.
MEDLINE
7.
Baulieu E-E.
RU-486 as an antiprogesterone steroid: from receptor to contragestion and
beyond.
JAMA.
1989;262:1808-1814.
MEDLINE
8.
Furth P.
Roe v Wade.
JAMA.
1989;262:1519.
MEDLINE
9.
Regelson W, Loria R, Kalimi M.
Beyond "abortion": RU-486 and the needs of the crisis constituency.
JAMA.
1990;264:1026-1027.
MEDLINE
10.
From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Abortion surveillance: preliminary data
United States, 1994.
JAMA.
1997;277:284.
MEDLINE
11.
Joyce T, Henshaw SK, Skatrud JD.
The impact of Mississippi's mandatory delay law on abortion and births.
JAMA.
1997;278:653-658.
MEDLINE
12.
Newcomb PA, Storer BE, Longnecker MP, Mittendorf R, Greenberg ER, Willett
WC.
Pregnancy termination in relation to risk of breast cancer.
JAMA.
1996;275:283-287.
MEDLINE
13.
Duke RC, Speidel JJ.
Women's reproductive health: a chronic crisis.
JAMA.
1991;266:1846-1847.
MEDLINE
14.
AMA Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs.
Mandatory parental consent to abortion.
JAMA.
1993;269:82-86.
MEDLINE
15.
Cates W.
The Hyde amendment in action: how did the restriction of federal funds
for abortion affect low-income women?
JAMA.
1981;246:1109-1112.
MEDLINE
16.
Blendon RJ, Benson JM, Donelan K.
The public and the controversy over abortion.
JAMA.
1993;270:2871-2875.
MEDLINE
17.
Albert A, Bennett C, Bojar M.
Health care in the Czech Republic.
JAMA.
1992;267:2461-2466.
MEDLINE
18.
AMA Council on Scientific Affairs and Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs.
Medical application of fetal tissue transplantation.
JAMA.
1990;263:565-570.
MEDLINE
19.
Klebanoff MA, Shiono PH, Rhoads GG.
Spontaneous and induced abortion among resident physicians.
JAMA.
1991;265:2821-2825.
MEDLINE
20.
Steinauer J, Abrey A, Kunins H, Cada S, Steinberg O, DePineres T.
Time to stand up for abortion providers.
JAMA.
1994;272:1378.
MEDLINE
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