Protection of Conscience Project News
Service, not Servitude
Crux
LEICESTER, United Kingdom – A Catholic bishop in Scotland is urging the country’s political leadership to affirm freedom of conscience, “and hold in high regard those in public life who remain true to their conscience, even at the expense of personal popularity or political advantage.”
Bishop Hugh Gilbert, the president of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, made his comments in a letter to Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. . . [Full text]
thejournal.ie
MINISTER FOR HEALTH Simon Harris has said that the current provision of abortion services in the north and north west is “a very real concern” and is “not acceptable”.
The minister made the comments during a meeting with the HSE in May about the progress in rolling out abortion services at all of Ireland’s maternity hospitals and units.
Abortion services, as legislated for in the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018, were in place in nine maternity hospitals and units across the country from the 1 January this year. . . .
. . . as it stands, just one more maternity hospital – the Coombe – has also introduced the service, bringing the total to 10 out of 19 maternity hospitals and units. . . . [Full text]
Highland Radio
The full roll out of termination of early pregnancy services has been prevented at Letterkenny University Hospital because of conscientious objection complications.
It’s one of three hospitals affected nationally with the Department of Health stating that it will be asking the HSE to fully implement abortion services in all maternity hospitals and units by September. . . [Full text]
TheJournal.ie
THE FULL ROLLOUT of termination of early pregnancy services has been prevented in at least three maternity hospitals because of conscientious objection complications, documents seen by TheJournal.ie show.
Following the Eighth Amendment referendum last year, Health Minister Simon Harris gave 1 January as the date by which abortion services for pregnancies at 12 weeks or under would be provided. . .
. . . The rollout of full abortion services has been slower than expected: although there is some level of abortion services available in all maternity hospitals, just ten out of 19 maternity hospitals or units offer full termination of pregnancy services. . . . [Full text]
Speaking at the All-Ireland Rally for Life, Dr. Trevor Hayes, an obstetrician at St. Luke’s Hospital in Kilkenny, said that he and three consultant colleagues at the hospital advised the HSE (Irish Health Services) that they would not peform abortions.
“A great number of my colleagues are unwilling to perform surgical abortions,” he said, “and they say they will not be forced to carry out this life ending procedure”
[The politicians] want to force doctors like me to do so, and that’s not going to happen.
Would the GPs who are attacking pro-life obstetricians on Twitter perform a late-term surgical abortion? Again, I suspect most of them would not. So why are they trying to force other people to be involved in something so repugnant to those of us who adhere to the first principle of medicine, which is “do no harm”?
Shame on them for failing to respect conscientious rights of their colleagues in medicine. But we won’t be bullied by them either.
