Protection of Conscience Project News
Service, not Servitude
Conscience protections for pharmacists would be diluted by draft proposals, The Christian Institute has warned.
Currently, pharmacists who do not wish to sell abortifacients, such as the morning after pill, may refer customers to another pharmacist.
But new draft General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) standards weaken that right of referral and state that pharmacists must ensure that “person-centred care is not compromised because of personal values and beliefs”. . . [Full text]
LifeSite News
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 9, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) – Christian pharmacists in British Columbia can now practice with a clear conscience.
Under the B.C. College of Pharmacy’s new ethics code, they cannot be forced to prescribe for abortions, euthanasia, or artificial contraception.
Cristina Alarcon, a Vancouver-area community pharmacist who was a driving force behind the new code, says it “covers everything.” For the first time, pharmacists can refuse to dispense any prescription that violates their conscience. [Full text]
Crux
The General Pharmaceutical Council in the UK announced in a statement that personal values and beliefs should not compromise person-centered care. The statement caused concern among bishops and Catholic organizations that British pharmacists could be forced to dispense lethal drugs under plans to prohibit conscientious objection on the grounds of religion.
MANCHESTER, England – The Catholic Church has predicted that British pharmacists could be forced to dispense lethal drugs under plans to prohibit conscientious objection on the grounds of religion. . . [Full text]
Early in December 2016, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Board of Trustees passed an historic Position Statement that originated in the Assembly and was unanimously supported by the APA Ethics Committee:
The APA, in concert with the American Medical Association’s position on Medical Euthanasia, holds that a psychiatrist should not prescribe or administer any intervention to a non-terminally ill person for the purpose of causing death.
This position is now one of the strongest of any medical organization in the world regarding the practice of physician-assisted suicide by prescription medication or euthanasia by lethal injection (PAS/E) for those with non- terminal conditions. This is not just a theoretical possibility that might occur along a slippery slope following legalization of PAS/E for terminal illnesses. People with non-terminal illnesses have been legally euthanized at their own request in several countries for nearly 15 years. This has included certain eligible patients who have only psychiatric disorders. . . [Full text]
Christian pharmacists could be forced to provide services which go against their conscience, under controversial new proposals.
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) is currently consulting on new guidance which would require pharmacists to park their religious convictions while at work.
One group representing Christian pharmacists has warned that the move could make “the position of some excellent professionals untenable”. . . [Full text]