Category: News

Doctor-ethicist sees ongoing efforts to weaken conscience protections

Boston Pilot

Peter Finney Jr.

NEW ORLEANS (CNS) — Fine print contained in the Affordable Care Act has weakened conscience protections for physicians who oppose abortion, sterilization or other medical practices on religious or moral grounds, a doctor and ethicist told the American Academy of Fertility Care Professionals.

Dr. John Brehany, executive director and ethicist of the Catholic Medical Association, said with the passage of the new health care law, commonly called Obamacare, “the federal government is posing real threats to faithful health care professionals.”

“While Obamacare itself does have a couple of conscience-protection provisions built in, the fact is, if you look at the big picture, which are the old federal laws and what was achieved from 1973 to 2004, we are now missing some important protections, and we are now vague on how these old laws will carry forward into the future,” Brehany said Aug. 10 during told the academy’s annual gathering in New Orleans. . . . [Full text]

Canadian Medical Association affirms physician freedom of conscience

During the 146th Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Medical Association in Calgary, Alberta, discussion of motions concerning euthanasia and assisted suicide demonstrated how contentious the issues are for physicians.  The delegates could not even agree upon what terminology should be used for the procedures, referring the question to the CMA board of directors.  [Vancouver Sun; CMAJ] However, delegates “easily” passed a motion put forward by one of the delegates to support physician freedom of conscience:

The Canadian Medical Association supports the right of any physician to exercise conscientious objection when faced with a request for medical aid in dying. (DM 5-22)

Irish government signals intention to force Catholic hospitals to provide abortion

Physician recommends expansion of abortion services beyond designated facilities

Quoting an unnamed official of the Irish Department of Health, the Irish Independent has reported that the Irish government intends to force Catholic hospitals to provide abortions under the new Irish abortion law.  The official is quoted as saying that the new law provides for conscientious objection for individuals, but the exemption ” does not apply to a hospital.”

The Irish Independent also reports that Dr. Kevin Walsh, a cardiologist at Mater Hospital, Dublin, has said that more hospitals should be designated to provide abortions, as he believes that the obstetric hospitals do not have the resources to manage women who are “pregnant and critically ill with heart disease.”   Abortions in such circumstances would be better provided in acute care hospitals, he said, “on an urgent planned basis rather than immediate emergency basis.”

Mater board priest says hospital can’t carry out abortions

Board of governors to consider position on new law versus Mater ‘ethos’

Irish Times

Kitty Holland

The Mater hospital in Dublin “cannot comply” with the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act and cannot carry out abortions, a member of its board of governors has said.

Fr Kevin Doran was speaking to The Irish Times as the board prepares to meet in the coming weeks to discuss how or whether the hospital will abide by the legislation. [Full text]

Most Canadian doctors unwilling to partake in physician-assisted suicide if legalized, survey suggests

Calgary Herald

 Sharon Kirkey

Just 26 per cent of doctors surveyed by the Canadian Medical Association said they would be “very or somewhat likely” to participate in doctor-assisted dying.

Only one quarter of the nation’s doctors would be willing to help terminally ill patients end their lives if the practice of doctor-assisted suicide were legalized in this country, a survey by Canada’s biggest doctors’ group suggests.

Just 26 per cent of doctors surveyed by the Canadian Medical Association said they would be “very or somewhat likely” to participate in doctor-assisted dying, while 54 per cent were “very or somewhat unlikely” to do so, according to a summary of the survey posted on the CMA’s website. [ Full text]