Catholic Physicians\u27 Guilds

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The Linacre QuarterlyVolume 22 | Number 1 Article 72-1-1955In The NewsCatholic Physicians' GuildsFollow this and additional works at: https://epublications.marquette.edu/lnqPart of the Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons, and the Medicine and Health SciencesCommonsRecommended CitationCatholic Physicians' Guilds (1955) "In The News," The Linacre Quarterly: Vol. 22 : No. 1 , Article 7.Available at: https://epublications.marquette.edu/lnq/vol22/iss1/7(Thi� is one of the most recentGuilds to be formed.)Dr. Alice Holoubek from theShreveport Guild advised that allthe Catholic doctors in that cityare members of the Guild. Thisgroup, like Mobile, is newly or­ganized. Small groups have beenformed for discussion; non-Catho­lic friends are included. At presentthe book "Image of His Maker"is being discussed . NEW BUSINESS The Board unanimously recom­mended the reinstatement of theBellevill� (Illinois) Guild in theFederation. Th� Bo�rd authorized a monthlybulletm with news items for theGuilds for the months when TH­LINACRE QUARTERLY is not published. The Board suggested that th(editors list in THE LIN ACRE QuAR­TERL Y, from time to time, localitieiwhere Catholic doctors are neededThere is a shortage in many areaEa.nd information regarding situa­ti.ons would be of interest to physi­Cla�s desiring to make changes fo1various reasons. The Cat  ho 1 i cHospital Association can furnishthis information. The meeting adjourned at 4:30p.m. Members of the Executive Boardwere guests of the New OrleansGuild at a dinner meeting in theJung Hotel. NEW PUBLICATION .... . Part V of the Medico-Moral Problems series of Father Gerald K IJ SJis Just off the press! Complete your set of these valuable bookletse �·o · · copy. The entire series, including the Ethical and Religious 0·1 ect· . c ·aJ b/ f $2 50 s· b f IVeS, ava 1 -. a e or · · ix ooklets. Order from The Catholic Hospital A · f 1438 So. Grand Blvd., St. Louis 4, Missouri. . ssoc 1a ion, 36 LINACRE QUARTERLYTest-tube babies and di..-orce An important ruling clarifying moral and legal problems arising in a recent divorce case was fea­tured with great emphasis in TheNew World, Chicago Catholic weekly. Superior Court Judge Gib­son E. Gorman ruled that "Test­tube babies are illegitimate if the natural fathers· were not the do­nors. Mothers guilty of such prac- . tices have c o m m itted adultery, even if the artificial insemination was performed with the consent of the husband," he decreed. The judge rendered the decision in a divorce suit in which a mother made the claim that her five-year­old son was born as a result of artificial insemination. She claimed that as a result of this, the child is the child of the mother alone and that the husband has no right or interest in the boy. In her divorce suit she accused her husband of ''habitual drunkenness." The husband's opposing petition contended that he is actually the father of the child. But it said that if the woman was artificially in­seminated, then it was "without sanction of moral or natural law, and without regard for the future rights" of the child and constituted an act of adultery. In his ruling, Judge Gorman made judgment on the following propositions which he had been asked to affirm: -Artificial insemination is not con­trary to public policy.FEBRUARY, 1955 -Artificial insemination does notconstitute adultery.-A child born of artificial insemi­nation is legitimate and the childof the mother only; the fatheror husband has no right to saidchild.Judge Gorman decreed:"1. Heterologous artificial insemi­nation ( when the donor is a third party) with or without the consent of the husband, is con­trary to public policy and good morals, and constitutes adul­tery on the part of the mother. A child so conceived is not a child born in wedlock and is therefore illegitimate. As such, it is the child of the mother, and the father has no right or interest in said child. 2. Homologous artificial insemina­tion ( when the donor is thehusband of the woman) is notcontrary to public policy andgood morals, and does not pre­sent any difficulty from thelegal point of view."The answering petition asserted:"The alleged artificial insemination is immoral because both natural and divine law establish the fact that a new life must be procreated only inside marriage. The volun­tary surrender by the plaintiff to another persori of her reproductive powers or faculties should be held by the court to be an act of adul­tery." Attorney for the defendant was expected to file a complaint with 37 the American M-edical Association accusing the physician of malprac­tice and unethical practice. Judge Gorman, who is a Cath­olic, said the attitude of the Church on artificial insemination had no effect on his decision. He declared: "This was strictly a legal decision covering the particular issues at hand. It was not affected by moral principles of my own." In the wake of the ruling on the illegitimacy of test-tube bab ies ,  Chicago doctors have urged the A.M.A. to fight the decision. Ob­stetricians and gynecologists there,however, said that so long as thedecision holds, they will handle nofurther artificial insemination cases.It was recalled that in 1949 His Holiness Pope Pius XII declared artificial insemination to be a grave­ly immoral violation of the mar­riage bond. LINACRE QUARTE R LY has pub­lished several articles on the sub­ject. New medical school The establishment of New Jer­sey's first medical  and dental  school with opening set for Sep­tember 1955 was announced in mid-December. The Clinical Build­ing of the Jersey City Medical Center will house the new Seton Hall College of Medic ine  and Dentistry. Seton Hall, a Catholic university, has signed a 50-year lease for the building. The state had been approached to take over a portion if not all of the hospital that is operated by the Jersey City Medical Center but the off er had been declined. In 38 signing the pact. Archbishop Be · land declared: "We are not enter · ing with an illusion that this wi .. be a profit making venture ... it i a sacrifice for the greater comma. good." He declared that the schoc will be operated for the "best in· terest of all people of our state. There are still agreements to b: reached regarding the future oper ation of the hospital. It is interesting to note that th( first college of medicine and den­tistry in the state will be added tc the five other schools of this kin conducted by Catholic universities in other parts of the country. Medical profession and specialization "The medical profession is suf­fering from over-specialization," Dr. Daniel  L .  Sexton, vice­president of the Federation of Catholic Physicians' Guilds and newly installed president of the St. Louis Medical Society, declared in his inaugural address. "Today we are finding our profession over­specialized and suffering from lack of practitioners with broad train­ing who can treat most of the prevailing ailments," Dr. Sexton stated .. "This past year more medical graduates are inquiring about ro­tating internships and are seeking training in those hospitals offering such services," he said, "And this is a healthy sign indicating the pendulum is swinging · away from specialization." Dr. Sexton echoes much of the thought expressed by the medical a d v i s o r y  committee assisting our Catholic hospitals. LINACRE QUARTERLY 

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