The emergence of maternal-fetal conflict policies

George Washington University Medical Center's Policy on decisionmaking by pregnant patients is being widely circulated by the ACLU; copies of the Policy can be obtained by calling the American Civil Liberties Union Reproductive Freedom Project. There is, of course, much disagreement over the details of the Policy; not everyone will agree with its underlying philosophy favoring maternal rights. Nevertheless, there does seem to be a consensus that wherever possible these conflicts should be resolved in accordance with previously adopted policies rather than by the courts on an ad hoc basis. Had the Policy been in place in 1987, the Carder case would probably not have been submitted to a judge in the first place, nor would Angela Carder have been forced to undergo a Caesarean section. All hospitals should consider adopting a maternal-fetal conflict policy, and those that do so should be aware of the George Washington University Medical Center Policy, whether or not they agree with its provisions. Whatever policy each hospital ultimately develops should be integrated with decisionmaking and informed consent policies already in place. The formulation and implementation of such a policy, reflecting the hospital's legal and ethical obligations to its pregnant patients, will go a long way towards preventing unnecessary resort to the courts.     

Attitudes of Canadians toward affirmative action: Opposition,value pluralism,and nonattitudes

Set against a backdrop of current public policy and case law, this study investigates Canadian attitudes toward affirmative action among both citizens and decision makers. We find low levels of support for such programs across a variety of contexts and intended beneficiaries, but we also discover that opinion on both sides of the issue is rather soft, for large portions of those taking positions on the matter are willing to reconsider their views when prompted. We interpret this finding as an indication of what Philip Converse has called nonattitudes. Thus, a substantial portion of Canadians appear to hold no genuine attitudes on the question of affirmative action and are relatively open to persuasion. In contrast, the preferences of those with stable attitudes are rooted in the tradeoff between values of equality and merit. Implications for policy activists in this issue area are discussed.The research reported here is part of a large project supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (Grant No. 411-85-001). The Centre of Criminology at the University of Toronto has provided a home, and indispensable support, for the Charter Project. This research was also facilitated by a contribution from the Solicitor General of Canada to the Centre of Criminology, University of Toronto. Our thanks also go to Robert Vipond for his help in clarifying our concepts.     

Money madness. Are private psychiatric hospitals resorting to kidnapping in their quest for paying patients?

In their zeal for lucrative insurance reimbursement, some private psychiatric hospitals seem to have gone over the edge themselves. A number of these institutions, critics charge, use outright coercion to commit and retain patients. Now some formerly abducted "recruits" are fighting back with lawsuits.     

C6-polymorphism of the sixth component of complement: application to paternity cases (author's transl)]

The results of a study of the polymorphism of the sixth component of human complement by means of isoelectric focusing in polyacrylamide gels with subsequent C-dependent lysis in an agarose overlay containing C6 deficient rabbit serum are reported. The allele frequencies obtained (C6A = 0.613, C6B = 0.379, C6R = 0.008) are in good agreement with those previously published. The mode of inheritance in 47 families with 173 offspring as well as 26 mother-child combinations is in agreement with a formal genetical model: "C6A, C6B, C6A1 and C6B1 at an autosomal locus". The inclusion of this system into a blood group expertise in Germany can be recommended.