Category: News

Surplus of objectors on abortion creates dilemma for Italy

Crux

Claire Granglavè

ROME – Although Italy claims to have one of the most sophisticated abortion laws in the world, what it apparently doesn’t have are doctors willing to perform them.

Law 194, signed in 1978 and approved by popular referendum in 1981 over the Church’s stern opposition, allows for the woman wishing to have an abortion to do so within the first 90 days of pregnancy. It also created public counseling facilities for the purpose of providing women with alternatives to abortion.

One of the main aspects of law 194 is that it permits doctors to be conscientious objectors and therefore refuse to terminate a pregnancy. What makes Italy unique is that an overwhelming majority of doctors fall under this category. On average, seven out of ten doctors are conscientious objectors. . . [Full text]

 

Doctors’ leaders clash with pro-shooting group over health checks on gun licence applicants

The Herald

W.N.M.P. Bowern

Apply for a firearms or shotgun licence and your family doctor will be asked by the police if he or she thinks there might any medical reason or ‘concerns’ to refuse to allow you to possess a gun.

A change in the licensing regime last April meant new information sharing processes between GPs and the police were introduced in an attempt to ensure those licensed to possess firearm and shotgun certificates were medically fit to carry sporting guns.

The British Medical Association expressed concerns at the time. This week it has gone further, advising doctors they can refuse to engage in the process if they have a conscientious objection to firearms and telling them if they do agree to provide information they should charge a fee. . . .[Full text]

 

Embryo Experiments Reveal Earliest Human Development, But Stir Ethical Debate

Shots.  Health News from NPR

Rob Stein

Ali Brivanlou slides open a glass door at the Rockefeller University in New York to show off his latest experiments probing the mysteries of the human embryo.

“As you can see, all my lab is glass — just to make sure there is nothing that happens in some dark rooms that gives people some weird ideas,” says Brivanlou, perhaps only half joking.

Brivanlou knows that some of his research makes some people uncomfortable. That’s one reason he has agreed to give me a look at what’s going on.

His lab and one other discovered how to keep human embryos alive in lab dishes longer than ever before — at least 14 days. That has triggered an international debate about a long-standing convention (one that’s legally binding in some countries, though not in the U.S.) that prohibits studying human embryos that have developed beyond the two-week stage. . . . [Full text]

 

Catholics decry plans to hire abortionists at Rome hospital

The Christian Times

Jardine Malado

A public hospital’s decision to hire two doctors who are willing to perform abortions have caused an outcry from Catholics in Italy, where most doctors refuse to carry out the procedure.

Under Italy’s “Law 194,” which was introduced in 1978, abortion is allowed up to 12 weeks into pregnancy for medical and personal reasons, AFP reported. However, doctors in the public service may refuse to perform the procedure on grounds of “conscientious objection.”

The issue sparked controversy after the San Camillo hospital in Rome advertised positions for two gynecologists, stipulating that those appointed should be willing to carry out abortions. Those who fail to conduct the procedure within the first six months of their appointment would put themselves at risk of being fired.

 

‘Take my name off the list, I can’t do any more’: Some doctors backing out of assisted death

National Post

Sharon Kirkey

Some doctors who have helped the gravely ill end their lives are no longer willing to participate in assisted death because of emotional distress or fear of prosecution if their decisions are second-guessed, according to their colleagues.

In Ontario, one of the few provinces to track the information, 24 doctors have permanently been removed from a voluntary referral list of physicians willing to help people die. Another 30 have put their names on temporary hold.

While they do not have to give a reason, a small number have advised the province they now want “a reflection period to decide whether medical assistance in dying is a service they want to provide,” according to a health ministry spokesman. . . [Full text]