In a 2/1 decision, the British Columbia Court of Appeal has overturned the Supreme Court ruling in Carter v. Canada, which would have legalized physician assisted suicide. The case will almost certainly be appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Category: News
Doctor risks his career after refusing abortion referral
A DOCTOR risks being deregistered because he allegedly refused a referral for an Indian couple who wanted to abort a healthy unborn baby girl at 19 weeks, simply because they wanted a boy.
Dr Mark Hobart, 55, has been under investigation by the Medical Board of Victoria for five months, accused of having committed an offence under the state’s controversial Abortion Law Reform Act of 2008.
His patient and her husband requested a sex-selection abortion after an ultrasound determined their fetus was female.
They only wanted a boy, the husband told Dr Hobart, who, as a practising Catholic, had a conscientious objection to providing the abortion.
Under Victorian law, he was obliged to refer the patient to a doctor he knew would terminate the pregnancy.
But Dr Hobart doesn’t know any doctor who would agree to abort a healthy baby for sex selection reasons.
“The general response from my colleagues is disbelief and revulsion,” he said.
In any case, a referral is not necessary for an abortion. Hobart’s patient independently procured the abortion a few days later. Neither she nor her husband made any complaint.
But Dr Hobart now finds himself subject to a star chamber inquiry by the Medical Board of Victoria. [Full text]
Priest resigns after Mater Hospital agrees to comply with Irish abortion law
Father Kevin Doran of Dublin has resigned from the board of the Mater Hospital following its public statement that it would comply with the new Irish abortion law, which has not yet come into effect. Fr. Doran had previously said that it would be inconsistent with the Catholic ethos of the hospital to provide abortions. The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin in making enquiries about the hospital’s position. [The Journal]
- Irish hospital agrees to comply with abortion law
- Mater Board priest says hospital can’t carry out abortions
- Irish government signals intention to force Catholic hospitals to provide abortion
Irish hospital agrees to comply with abortion law
The Mater Hospital in Dublin has announced that it will comply with Ireland’s new abortion law, which requires designated institutions, including the Mater, to provide abortions approved under the terms of the statute. Father Kevin Doran, a member of the board of directors, had previously stated that the hospital could not comply with the law. [The Journal]
Euthanasia statistics in the Netherlands
On average, about 11 people a day were killed by Dutch physicians following euthanasia protocols in 2012. The total (4,188) represents an increase of 13% over the previous year. Some researchers believe that the increase is the result of greater acceptance of the procedure by physicians and the public. 80% of the patients were killed in their homes. [Expat Journal- Dutch News]