- Craig Klugman* | . . . Medical education does not provide courses in moral courage, defying authority, or turning against the tide of one’s peers. In fact, medical education encourages group think, keeping your head down and knowing your place in the hierarchy, and seeking out the approval of your peers. . .
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U.S. Catholic bishops reaffirm opposition to forced payment for birth control
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has unanimously approved a statement reiterating the opposition of the Catholic episcopate to the federal regulation that forces objecting business owners to provide insurance coverage for birth control and surgical sterilization.
Majority of Italian obstetricians refuse to perform abortions
According to a report from the Italian Ministry of Health, the abortion rate has continued to drop in the country, a trend evident since 1982. There has also been an increase in conscientious objection to abortion among health care workers. In Campania, almost 90% of gynaecologists refuse to perform the procedure, and the rate for all of southern Italy is about 80%.
In response, the Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro (CGIL), a national labour union, has demanded that only physicians willing to perform abortions should be employed in the public health system. However, the Ministry’s own statistics demonstrate that 95 percent of requested abortions are performed within three weeks,
while 90 percent are not considered medically urgent. Lawyer Giacomo Rocchi, also an Italian Supreme Court magistrate, went to Strasbourg to represent a number of associations in their defence of freedom of conscience.[LifeSite News]
Jewish General Hospital opposes Bill 60 as patently discriminatory
News Release
The Jewish General Hospital (JGH) strongly opposes Bill 60, on the grounds that the plan by the current Government of Quebec to ban overt religious symbols in the clothing of healthcare employees is discriminatory and deeply insulting to public-sector workers.
Contrary to statements in the bill, the JGH believes that neutrality in the delivery of healthcare services is not compromised by religious symbols in the clothing of employees. As long as services are delivered with professional competence, courtesy and respect, no legislation should be allowed to override the freedoms of religion or expression that are guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and by the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.
“This bill is flawed and contrary to Quebec’s spirit of inclusiveness and tolerance,” says Dr. Lawrence Rosenberg, JGH Executive Director. “Since the bill is inherently prejudicial, there is no point in taking advantage of any clause that would grant us temporary, short-term relief. If approved, this offensive legislation would make it extremely difficult for the JGH to function as an exemplary member of Quebec’s public healthcare system.” Dr. Rosenberg’s statement is endorsed by the JGH Board of Directors.
For nearly 80 years, the JGH has prided itself on the fact that its staff—representing a wide diversity of faiths, with many employees wearing conspicuous items of clothing with religious symbols—has provided care of superior quality to Quebecers of all backgrounds. JGH patients continue to come to this hospital in ever-increasing numbers with only one thought in mind: to receive treatment and care of the highest quality. This is what matters most to residents of the hospital’s Côte-des-Neiges area, which is widely regarded as one of the most ethnically, racially, culturally, linguistically and religiously diverse neighbourhoods in Canada. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that the JGH receives no complaints about the religious or cultural apparel of its staff.
A brief outlining the position of the Jewish General Hospital will be submitted to the National Assembly at a later date.
No interviews will be given on the matter.
Contact:
Glenn J. Nashen, Director
Astrid Morin, Media Relations
Public Affairs and Communications Jewish General Hospital
Tel.: 514-340-8222 ext. 4612
Email: amorin@jgh.mcgill.ca
Website: jgh.ca
Health professionals participated in cruelty and torture
Medical, Military, and Ethics Experts Say Health Professionals Designed and Participated in Cruel, Inhumane, and Degrading Treatment and Torture of Detainees
New York, NY — An independent panel of military, ethics, medical, public health, and legal experts today charged that U.S. military and intelligence agencies directed doctors and psychologists working in U.S. military detention centers to violate standard ethical principles and medical standards to avoid infliction of harm. The Task Force on Preserving Medical Professionalism in National Security Detention Centers (see attached) concludes that since September 11, 2001, the Department of Defense (DoD) and CIA improperly demanded that U.S. military and intelligence agency health professionals collaborate in intelligence gathering and security practices in a way that inflicted severe harm on detainees in U.S. custody.
These practices included “designing, participating in, and enabling torture and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment” of detainees, according to the report. Although the DoD has taken steps to address some of these practices in recent years, including instituting a committee to review medical ethics concerns at Guantanamo Bay Prison, the Task Force says the changed roles for health professionals and anemic ethical standards adopted within the military remain in place. [Full report]