Category: Legal Commentary

Australian Medical Association Submission to the Tasmanian Government

On the law governing termination of pregnancy

Introduction

The Tasmanian branch of the Australian Medical Association expressed qualified support for statutory legalization of abortion in a submission to the Tasmanian state government concerning its proposed Reproductive Health (Access to Terminations) Bill 2013.  However, the Association also emphasized its opposition to parts of the proposed bill that would suppress freedom of conscience among physicians.  Those parts of the submission are reproduced below. [Read more . . .]

New frontiers in repressing dissent

Re:  Reproductive Health (Access to Terminations) Bill (2013)
(State of Tasmania)

  • Mishka Gora* | Tasmania may be small, but it will punch far above its weight on the world stage in shutting down protests against abortion if a new bill is passed. . . the real aim of the Labor-Green coalition which is running Tasmania is to criminalize abortion dissent.
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Health Care Freedom of Conscience Act (Nebraska)

Testimony of Anna R. Franzonello | . . .I have thoroughly reviewed LB 564, which provides protection—and an adequate enforcement mechanism—for healthcare providers’ freedom of conscience.  I am testifying in this proceeding as an expert in constitutional law and as an expert on laws respecting the freedom of conscience.  I appreciate this opportunity to testify as to the constitutionality of LB 564 and the necessity of protecting the freedom of conscience of healthcare providers. . .
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Health Care Freedom of Conscience Act (Nebraska)

Testimony of Clyde R. Meckel, MD |
Thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of LB564- the Health Care Freedom of Conscience Act.  The purpose of this bill is to respect and protect the fundamental right of conscience of licensed individuals who provide health care. This is a critical matter of protecting one of our most fundamental liberties.
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When Conscience and Duty Conflict: A Health Care Provider’s Moral Dilemma

Verdict

David S. Kemp

Most of the time, physicians and other health care providers have coincident legal and ethical duties to perform their professional job functions. An emergency room physician’s obligation to treat patients admitted to the ER derives both from law and from ethics. A nurse’s duty to prepare a patient for surgery likewise comes from both sources. In some instances, however, a provider’s own personal beliefs may mandate one behavior while law and duty require another.

The most salient and most commonly discussed example in this context is that of abortion, and with regard to that procedure, the law is relatively clear: Providers who are morally opposed to abortions or sterilization may legally refuse to participate in those procedures. Similarly, in states that allow physician-assisted suicide, physicians who have moral objections to the practice are not legally obligated to engage in it simply because a patient requests it. In these cases, the law protects the provider’s right of conscience. . . Read More . . .