The House of Assembly in the Parliament of South Australia has passed the Advanced Care Directives Bill (2012), which defines medical treatment and health care so as to include nutrition and hydration, and makes it possible for nutrition and hydration to be refused or denied even to patient who isnot dying. The protection of conscience provision in the bill requires objectors to facilitate the withdrawal of food and fluids by providing contact information for someone willing to do so, and to refer the patient to that person if requested. The bill also allows patient directives to override denominational or institutional codes of conduct governing the delivery of health care. [The Australian]
Ob/Gyn Medical Student
United States
American obstetrician comments on death of woman in Ireland
Obstetrician Lisa Harris, whose column in the New England Journal of Medicine asserted that protection of conscience laws fail to recognize that abortion providers are motivated by conscientious convictions, repeated her arguments in an interview with the New Scientist magazine. While she admitted that the circumstances of the death of Savita Halappanavar in Ireland are not clear, she speculated that the Halappanavar might not have died had an abortion been provided. She stated that similar problems arise in denominational hospitals in the United States. She described the case of a woman who was referred to her with a “septic abortion ” because the foetus was still alive, and the religiously affilicated hospital where she was first treated would not induce an abortion. [New Scientist]
Interest in euthanasia grows in Australia
The Australia Institute has published the results of a survey indicating that about 70% of the respondents agreed that physicians should be able to provide euthansia in cases of “unrelievable and incurable suffering.” Over 50% thought that euthanasia should be available for patients suffering from dementia who had expressed a desire for euthanasia while competent.[Herald Sun]
RH bill founders in Philippines
Although it is claimed that a majority of members of the Phiilippines House of Represesntatives support the controversial Reproductive Health bill, the bill failed to come to a vote in the house because there were not enough legislators present to form a quorum. There are now doubts that the bill will pass during this legislative session. [Vancouver Sun]