Abortion referrals
Bruce, L.
New Zealand Medical Journal 90(646): 353
1979
ISSN/ISBN: 0028-8446 PMID: 293550 Document Number: 147648
When a pregnant woman presents at the surgery, it is necessary to acquaint her with the available options. One of these, of course, is termination. If, however, the physician does not belong to the obstetric list, he refers the case to a colleague appropriate to the circumstances. More than likely the colleague might be a certifying consultant. In the referral note, mention would be made in each case of the prior discussion of options. Following such a course with a certifying consultant would leave him in the position of issuing a report whether or not termination was recommended. As it seems that at least some certifying consultants have only issued positive recommendations for terminations, their record with the committee has drawn reprimand for their 100% termination referral rate. I think that all pregnancies and the decisions about them should be reported. This would substantially alter the statistics of termination and the political use that will be made of this information. In addition, the $25 fee in each case is the reward for using the bureaucratic system in the way it cries out to be used by anyone caught up in its meshes.