{"id":10833,"date":"2021-08-29T17:10:10","date_gmt":"2021-08-30T00:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=10833"},"modified":"2021-08-29T17:10:12","modified_gmt":"2021-08-30T00:10:12","slug":"canadas-politicians-go-mia-in-debate-over-conscientious-objection-for-doctors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=10833","title":{"rendered":"Canada\u2019s politicians go MIA in debate over conscientious objection for doctors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BioEdge<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michael Cook<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Conscientious objection to abortion and euthanasia has emerged as an election issue in Canada\u2019s 2021 federal election \u2013 and politicians are refusing to defend it<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pro-choice leader of the Conservatives, Erin O\u2019Toole, has walked back from a promise<\/a> in his party\u2019s platform to \u201cprotect the conscience rights of health-care professionals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does this mean that the Conservatives will defend the right not to refer patients for Medical Aid in Dying? O\u2019Toole fudged an answer, but he was clearly not in favour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The governing Liberal Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, jumped on an opportunity to score points: \u201cPro-choice doesn\u2019t mean the freedom of doctors to choose. It means the freedom of women to choose. Leaders have to be unequivocal on that,\u201d he said last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The politicians\u2019 reluctance to support doctors who do not want to refer for abortion or euthanasia is mirrored in the reluctance of the professional associations to defend refusal to refer. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario requires doctors to provide an \u201ceffective referral\u201d within a \u201ctimely manner\u201d to another professional or agency, should they consciously object. \u201cPhysicians must not impede access to care for existing patients, or those seeking to become patients,\u201d reads the college\u2019s policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quebec\u2019s Coll\u00e8ge des m\u00e9decins du Qu\u00e9bec says that: \u201cIn Quebec, doctors cannot abandon patients or even ignore their request by invoking conscientious objections, particularly in matters of abortion or medical assistance in dying, without referring them to another colleague. It is an ethical obligation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Colleges in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Manitoba all explicitly say that professionals who refuse to provide service are not required to make a referral. They cite the Canadian Medical Association\u2019s Code of Ethics and Professionalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

This article is published by Michael Cook and BioEdge under a Creative Commons licence. You may republish it or translate it free of charge with attribution for non-commercial purposes following these guidelines<\/a>. If you teach at a university we ask that your department make a donation. Commercial media must contact us<\/a> for permission and fees<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BioEdge Michael Cook Conscientious objection to abortion and euthanasia has emerged as an election issue in Canada\u2019s 2021 federal election \u2013 and politicians are refusing to defend it. The pro-choice leader of the Conservatives, Erin O\u2019Toole, has walked back from a promise in his party\u2019s platform to \u201cprotect the conscience rights of health-care professionals.\u201d Does … Continue reading “Canada\u2019s politicians go MIA in debate over conscientious objection for doctors”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46,77,32,4,162,9,511],"tags":[4059,293],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-10833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-abortion","category-assisted-suicide","category-canada","category-commentary","category-euthanasia","category-news","category-society-politics","tag-erin-otoole","tag-referral"],"yoast_head":"\r\nCanada\u2019s politicians go MIA in debate over conscientious objection for doctors - Protection of Conscience Project News<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Conservative Party leader Erin O\u2019Toole, has walked back from a promise to \u201cprotect the conscience rights of health-care professionals.\u201d\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=10833\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Canada\u2019s politicians go MIA in debate over conscientious objection for doctors - 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