{"id":8969,"date":"2019-01-30T08:31:02","date_gmt":"2019-01-30T16:31:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=8969"},"modified":"2019-04-12T08:41:46","modified_gmt":"2019-04-12T15:41:46","slug":"the-ccrl-participates-in-ontario-court-of-appeal-with-oral-arguments-in-support-of-physicians-conscience-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=8969","title":{"rendered":"The CCRL Participates In Ontario Court of Appeal with Oral Arguments in Support of Physicians’ Conscience Rights"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

News Release <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Catholic Civil Rights League <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toronto, ON January 25, 2019 – The Catholic Civil Rights League \n(CCRL) participated with oral arguments in the CMDS et al v. CPSO \nhearing at the Ontario Court of Appeal on January 21 and 22. Individual \nCatholic and Christian doctors and organizations had challenged the \nCollege of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO), which over the \ncourse of the past three years had stipulated an “effective referral” \nregime, forcing Ontario doctors who objected to morally objectionable \nprocedures to provide an “effective referral” to a willing doctor for \nsuch services. Previously, doctors were relieved from any such \nobligation. Ontario is the only provincial or territorial jurisdiction \nwhich has made such demands of its doctors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n The Ontario Divisional Court had ruled in favour\n of the CPSO, on January 31, 2018, despite finding that the religious \nfreedom of doctors had been infringed. The appellants and the League, in\n conjunction with the Faith and Freedom Alliance and the Protection of \nConscience Project, had argued that such “effective referrals” made \nobjecting doctors complicit in the provision of the objectionable \nprocedures, such as abortion, or assisted suicide. The previous court \ndecision allowed the infringement as a modest incursion into the rights \nof physicians, in the context of the ability of patients to access \npublicly available “services”. Moreover, the court previously ruled that\n objecting physicians could re-arrange their practice specialties to \n“accommodate” such referrals. The doctors and their respective \norganizations appealed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n In addition to the arguments presented by the \nlawyers for the appellants, the CCRL and its partners raised the \nparticular arguments that such demands were in breach of the conscience \nrights of Ontario doctors, as forcing individuals to do something that \nthey considered “wrong”, and was a form of enforced servitude. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Click here to view the CCRL’s written factum, \nsubmitted in November 2018, which made reference to important principles\n of law and philosophy, quoting Martin Luther King Jr., Jacques \nMaritain, and others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n At the appeal hearings, held at Toronto’s \nOsgoode Hall, arguments focused on whether the CPSO could justify its \nreferral policy as a “reasonable limit” on the rights of objecting \ndoctors. The CCRL’s lawyer, Mr. Emrys Davis, submitted that moral rights\n are central to one’s sense of human dignity, and that it was \nunacceptable to marginalize objecting physicians as religious \nextremists. Moreover, given that the Ontario Medical Association \nlikewise opposed the “effective referral” regime, such concerns were \nshared by a large numbers of Ontario doctors. The CCRL and its partners \nargued that the referral requirement imposed the values of the state \nupon individuals, forcing them to violate their own constitutionally \nprotected consciences, without justification. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n The CPSO’s lawyers had suggested that objecting \ndoctors could go so far as to instruct an intake employee to make the \nproposed referrals on their behalf. We argued that such doctors would \nstill be responsible morally to such a proposal, and would be left with \nno meaningful choice. Telling an employee to commit an immoral act would\n still offend the consciences of objecting doctors. The choice imposed \nby the CPSO was either to violate one’s conscience, or become subject to\n professional discipline for refusing to make such referrals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his closing remarks, Chief Justice of Ontario George Strathy thanked the many interveners for bringing their unique viewpoints and knowledge to the assistance of the court, which reserved its decision to a later date. The CCRL thanks the fine work of our lawyers at Bennett, Jones in Toronto, for its efforts on behalf of our interveners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

About the CCRL <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Catholic Civil Rights League (CCRL) (www.ccrl.ca) assists in creating conditions within which Catholic teachings can be better understood, cooperates with other organizations in defending civil rights in Canada, and opposes defamation and discrimination against Catholics on the basis of their beliefs. The CCRL was founded in 1985 as an independent lay organization with a large nationwide membership base. The CCRL is a Canadian non-profit organization entirely supported by the generosity of its members. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To donate to the CCRL, please click here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n For further information: Christian Domenic Elia, PhD CCRL Executive Director 416-466-8244 @CCRLtweets <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

News Release Catholic Civil Rights League Toronto, ON January 25, 2019 – The Catholic Civil Rights League (CCRL) participated with oral arguments in the CMDS et al v. CPSO hearing at the Ontario Court of Appeal on January 21 and 22. Individual Catholic and Christian doctors and organizations had challenged the College of Physicians and … Continue reading “The CCRL Participates In Ontario Court of Appeal with Oral Arguments in Support of Physicians’ Conscience Rights”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5432,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,10],"tags":[1822,99,647,3886,385,293],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-8969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-canada","category-news-releases","tag-canadian-federation-of-catholic-physicians-societies-cfcps","tag-canadian-physicians-for-life","tag-catholic-civil-rights-league","tag-christian-medical-and-dental-association-canada","tag-college-of-physicians-and-surgeons-of-ontario","tag-referral"],"yoast_head":"\r\nThe CCRL Participates In Ontario Court of Appeal with Oral Arguments in Support of Physicians' Conscience Rights - Protection of Conscience Project News<\/title>\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=8969\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The CCRL Participates In Ontario Court of Appeal with Oral Arguments in Support of Physicians' Conscience Rights - Protection of Conscience Project News\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"News Release Catholic Civil Rights League Toronto, ON January 25, 2019 – The Catholic Civil Rights League (CCRL) participated with oral arguments in the CMDS et al v. CPSO hearing at the Ontario Court of Appeal on January 21 and 22. 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CPSO hearing at the Ontario Court of Appeal on January 21 and 22. 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