Physicians seek leave to appeal Ontario court ruling against physician freedom of conscience

Introduction

Physicians and physician associations are seeking leave to appeal a decision of the Ontario Divisional Court to the effect that physicians must collaborate in providing procedures and services to which they object for reasons of conscience, even if that means collaborating in euthanasia and assisted suicide.  The appeal will be costly.  Faye Sonier, Chief Executive Office of one of the associations that brought the challenge, has issued a plea for donations to support the appeal by Canadian Physicians for Life, the Christian Medical and Dental Society, and the Canadian Federation of Catholic Physicians’ Societies.

Plea for donations to support the appeal of the Ontario Divisional Court decision

The time has come to further our fight to defend the conscience rights of doctors in Ontario. I’m asking you to support our efforts in this fight by making a donation today. 

As you know, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) decision was released on January 31. The court found the religious freedom rights of Ontario doctors are significantly violated by the CPSO’s policies, but that those violations can be justified to ensure patient access to healthcare. 

After lengthy consultation with the parties involved in our legal coalition and with over a dozen constitutional lawyers, we’ve decided to request permission from the Ontario Court of Appeal to appeal the decision.

We are pursuing an appeal as the decision was troubling and problematic on many fronts. We have numerous grounds of appeal from which to choose and we will narrow our focus in the coming days.

This is an important step in a process:

  • to ensure that policies that serve only to restrict the constitutional freedoms of physicians do not go unchallenged;
  • to dissuade other provinces from acting similarly;
  • and to communicate that patient access to healthcare is not hindered by maintaining the respect for conscientious objectors in the medical field.

The three physician groups involved in this legal fight, Canadian Physicians for Life, the Christian Medical and Dental Society, and the Canadian Federation of Catholic Physicians’ Societies, are joining together to raise the $125,000 needed for this next step of litigation.

We’re coming to you to ask for your financial support.

Much of the legal costs will be accrued up front as we must conduct research and prepare our written arguments to file the legal documents requesting the opportunity to appeal.  One-time donations made here will directly support this legal fight.

Physicians for Life is a registered charity and issues tax receipts.

Sincerely,

Faye Sonier
Executive Director & General Legal Counsel

P.S. Thank you so much for enabling CPL to continue this battle to defend conscience rights by making your donation today. This case is urgent, and we need funds as soon as possible to ensure that our legal counsel can be in the best position possible to further this fight.

Rethinking Rural Health Solutions To Save Patients And Communities

National Public Radio

Adrienne St. Clair

Heidi Schultz grew up traveling from one end of South Dakota to the other, tagging along as her sister saw doctors and specialists in the “big cities” to treat her diabetes.

Schultz thought she knew rural America well when she took a position with the Helmsley Charitable Trust overseeing their rural health program in seven Western and upper Midwestern states, including Montana and Wyoming.

But even she has been surprised by how she can drive hours on country highways seeing few cars and just “a handful of gravel driveways going somewhere you can’t see.”

“It’s almost scary,” Schultz says. “You’re thinking, ‘If something happened to me here on this road now, how long would it take for someone to get to me? An ambulance? And where would they take me for care?’ ” [Full text]

Professor David Oderberg joins Protection of Conscience Project Advisory Board

News Release   

For immediate release

Protection of Conscience Project

The Protection of Conscience Project welcomes David S. Oderberg, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Reading, UK to the Project Advisory Board. Professor Oderberg joined the university after completing his doctorate at Oxford in the early 1990s. He is the author of many articles in metaphysics, ethics, philosophy of religion, philosophy of science, and other areas. He is also the author of several books including Moral Theory and Applied Ethics (Blackwell, 2000) as well as co-editor of collections in ethics such as Human Values: New Essays on Ethics and Natural Law (Palgrave, 2004) and Human Lives: New Essays on Non-Consequentialist Bioethics (Palgrave, 1997).

Prof. Oderberg has been working on freedom of conscience in health care over the last few years, with a recent article in the Journal of Medical Ethics on co-operation, and a forthcoming policy monograph to be published by the Institute of Economic Affairs. He is Editor of Ratio, an international journal of analytic philosophy, and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. In 2013 he delivered the Hourani Lectures in Ethics at SUNY Buffalo, and has a book forthcoming based on those lectures, to be called The Metaphysics of Good and Evil. [Faculty Profile] [Website]

Contact:
Sean Murphy, Administrator
Protection of Conscience Project
protection@consciencelaws.org

The Protection of Conscience Project is a non-profit, non-denominational initiative that advocates for freedom of conscience in health care. The Project does not take a position on the morality or acceptability of morally contested procedures. Since 1999, the Project has been supporting health care workers who want to provide the best care  for their patients without violating their own personal and professional integrity. 

 

 

What happens after Repeal?

The Phil wades into the Repeal discussion to question what will come if the 8th amendment is repealed

Trinity News

Georgina Francis

Last Tuesday, the Phil hosted “Beyond Repeal”. The Phil sought to discuss what will happen if the eighth amendment is repealed with a panel of highly respected and knowledgeable speakers.

Beginning with a brief introduction each of the speakers outlined their involvement with the campaign. Julie O’Donnell spoke first of her personal experience with a fetal abnormality in her pregnancy, revealing she “just felt so alone” and that she “thought I’d be treated in my own country”. After seeing the founders of Terminations for Medical Reasons (TFMR) O’Donnell contacted them and became involved. . . [Full Text]

Medical professionals divided on bill allowing them to refuse to perform abortions, other procedures

New Hampshire Union Leader

Dave Solomon

CONCORD  –  The national debate over the rights of health care workers to refuse to perform procedures like abortion or assisted suicide is working its way through the New Hampshire State House as lawmakers consider “an act relative to the rights of conscience for medical professionals.”

The medical community is divided over the bill, which would allow medical professionals to refuse any procedure that goes against their personal beliefs, including abortion, providing contraceptives or contraceptive counseling.

Doctors at a public hearing last week testified for and against the bill (HB 1787), which would also cover physician’s assistants, nurses, pharmacists, medical students … basically anyone and everyone who works in the health care profession. The lengthy definition of “health care provider” in the bill includes “hospital or clinic employees.” . . . [Full Text]