This Week's Discussion: Position Statement Comments / "Nurses' Role in Capital Punishment"

Open letter to ANA (American Nurses Association)

My thought on the question posted on ANA's site in regard to the Nurse's Role in Capital Punishment, is not to debate capital punishment per se, but to make sure that no one is forced to do anything that goes against one's moral / ethical values. As ANA states the "Role of the nurse has been to promote, preserve and protect human life." Being born in Slovakia, I know the horrors of the lack of respect for human life, my own paternal grandparents died in "collective farms" which is a fancy name for "concentration camps." As a nurse I am bound ethically and legally by the State of Virginia to do no harm. I have done no harm to any patient during my 33 years of service to my patients and I made sure no one else harmed "our" patients.

It was not easy being a fastidious and meticulous operating room nurse while attempting to be politically correct with massive amounts of surgical team members and other hospital staff. In fact I have begun writing my memoirs about my 33 interesting and frustrating years of working in the operating room arena. When the issue of a possible rescind of the Rule of Conscience Law appeared in the media, I sent this letter out to appropriate Federal officials. This "Rule" already protects all person's individual rights.

This "Rule" protected my job for 33 years. As you know a RN can be fired for anything! But I had the legal right to say, "No, I will not assist on abortions." Just as a woman has the legal right to have an abortion.

When good laws like this are on the books, as we say, then ALL persons are protected. Laws have to work both ways, laws cannot discriminate. If this "Rule" is not negated, the nurse's working in prisons should have no legal problem with saying "NO."

My Opinions,
Helen French RN, BSN

www.operatingroomrnwatchingoveryou.com

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March 18, 2009

To Whom It May Concern:

Re: Rule of Conscience Law

I have read that the "rule of conscience" law is up for review with a comment period ending April 09, 2009. As an Operating Room Nurse, this "Rule of Conscience" Law has allowed me the freedom to choose not to participate or to assist on abortions, i.e. the killing of babies. A baby is perfectly formed by 12 weeks (3 months) and it is not simply a blob of tissue! In fact, the heart is beating when the baby is only a couple of days old.

Abortion is legal per se, however, this "rule of conscience" allowed me to say "no" to assisting on abortions without the fear of losing my job or without the fear of any other type of reprisal.

I witnessed an abortion when I was still in Nursing School many years ago, and the sight of that dead baby after it was burned by a hypertonic IV saline solution which was injected into the woman's uterus, is still vivid in my mind. That poor woman who aborted her six month old baby didn't even realize that she would have "labor pains" when aborting her dead baby. Some of the abortion techniques have changed over the years but they are all horrific and they all end up causing a baby's death. The "partial birth" abortion technique is especially horrendous. Ironic is the issue that in many ORs, a baby is saved in one room while another is killed in another room. Today, however, this issue of the "rule of conscience" is not about abortion, but about my freedom to "not assist on abortions." Also, this is not an issue about assisting on miscarriages, where the baby is already dead.

Respectfully, my opinions,

Helen French, RN, BSN
An Operating Room Registered Nurse of 33 Years and Passionate Patient Advocate

Please turn on your audio and view my video to learn more about errors in hospitals and then read my commentaries.

www.operatingroomrnwatchingoveryou.com