Advertisement
AJPH
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

AJPH First Look, published online ahead of print Aug 13, 2008
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
AJPH.2007.126730v1
98/10/1774    most recent
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow purchase articles
Right arrow View Shopping Cart
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Right arrow Get other permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Freedman, L. R.
Right arrow Articles by Steinauer, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Freedman, L. R.
Right arrow Articles by Steinauer, J.
Related Collections
Right arrow Ethics
Right arrow Abortion
Right arrow Health Policy
Right arrow Quality of Care
Right arrow Qualitative Research
Right arrow Women's Health
October 2008, Vol 98, No. 10 | American Journal of Public Health 1774-1778
© 2008 American Public Health Association
DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2007.126730

GOVERNMENT, POLITICS, AND LAW

When There's a Heartbeat: Miscarriage Management in Catholic-Owned Hospitals

Lori R. Freedman, PhD, Uta Landy, PhD and Jody Steinauer, MD, MAS

The authors are with the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences and the Bixby Center for Reproductive Health Global, University of California, San Francisco.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Lori R. Freedman, PhD, UCSF Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health, 1330 Broadway Street, Ste 1100, San Francisco, CA 94110 (e-mail: freedmanl{at}obgyn.ucsf.edu).

As Catholic-owned hospitals merge with or take over other facilities, they impose restrictions on reproductive health services, including abortion and contraceptive services. Our interviews with US obstetrician–gynecologists working in Catholic-owned hospitals revealed that they are also restricted in managing miscarriages.

Catholic-owned hospital ethics committees denied approval of uterine evacuation while fetal heart tones were still present, forcing physicians to delay care or transport miscarrying patients to non–Catholic-owned facilities. Some physicians intentionally violated protocol because they felt patient safety was compromised.

Although Catholic doctrine officially deems abortion permissible to preserve the life of the woman, Catholic-owned hospital ethics committees differ in their interpretation of how much health risk constitutes a threat to a woman's life and therefore how much risk must be present before they approve the intervention.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 AJPHHome page
B. S. Jones and T. A. Weitz
Legal Barriers to Second-Trimester Abortion Provision and Public Health Consequences
Am J Public Health, April 1, 2009; 99(4): 623 - 630.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 JWatch Women's HealthHome page
When Religious Ethics Conflict with Medical Standards of Miscarriage Management
Journal Watch Women's Health, December 4, 2008; 2008(1204): 7 - 7.
[Full Text]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2008 by the American Public Health Association