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Dr. Fritz Baumgartner's letter to UCLA's School of Medicine September 6, 2000 Gerald S. Levey, MD Neil H. Parker, MD UCLA School of Medicine 10833 LeConte Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90095-1722 Dear Drs. Levey and Parker, Thank you for your note of July 19, 2000 regarding UCLA's modified Hippocratic Oath. I certainly echo your sentiments that Dr. Melinkoff is an ardent protector of medicine and represents the humanism our profession aspires to. But medicine in the year 2000 is different in ways that Dr. Melinkoff could not have predicted in the 80's, and becoming increasingly so. The FDA is on the verge of approving mifepistone (RU 486) for "medical abortions", a move that will thoroughly alter the abortion landscape. This makes available to a number of specialties, other than obstetrics/gynecology, notably family practitioners, the opportunity to prescribe early medical abortion for their patients. Given this, to have a whole generation of graduating physicians who don't know what the original Hippocratic Oath says is unspeakable. It's no longer just about having a small subset of future abortion-providing obstetricians being allowed to "feel comfortable" by taking a modified oath. It's now about having a large fraction of a UCLA graduating class entering primary care not comprehending the serious vow that the original Hippocratic Oath embodies. It is in these aspiring physicians' hands that prescribing medical abortion will fall into. Yes, the modified Hippocratic Oath is still very germane. But even more germane, now more than ever, is the original Hippocratic Oath, which if the students should not be compelled to take, they should at least know the contents of. I beg you from the bottom of my heart to understand this. Enclosed is the lead article from the Aug 2000 issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. It is a startling article indeed. Also startling was that the very same issue had a symposium on the technique of early medical abortions. On the one hand, Dr. Gambrell notes that doctors "want to do what is best for their patients, particularly obstetricians, because we care for two lives"(1). On the other hand, another article recommends that after medical abortion, physicians should feel "free to advise patients to flush the products of conception down the toilet" (2). Another abortion provider notes that "legal abortion remains one of the most frequent operations performed in the United States … nearly half of all women in the United States personally benefit from abortion … When medical historians look back on the 20th century, the legalization of abortion will stand out as one of its public health triumphs … Few innovations, aside from antibiotics and immunization, have transformed the medical scene so profoundly and so fast" (3). Hitler and Stalin, who also changed their countries so profoundly and so fast, likewise thought their work would be viewed by historians as triumphant. The line in the sand is clearly drawn. Please give the UCLA medical students knowledge of the Hippocratic Oath's true contents so that they can make a truly informed decision. As the axiom says, "Not to decide is to decide." Sincerely, Fritz Baumgartner, MD 1.Gambrell Jr, RD. Physicians should provide moral leadership to their communities. Am J Obstet and Gynecol. 183: 261-70, 2000. 2.Borgmann CE, Jones BS. Legal issues in the provision of medical abortion. Am J Obstet and Gynecol. 183: S84-94. 3.Grimes DA. Medical abortion: public health and private lives. Am J Obstet and Gynecol 183: S1-2. |
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''I used to
be pro-choice.''
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