Maurice
Vellacott, MP
Saskatoon-Wanuskewin
Saskatoon-Wanuskewin
Saskatchewan
physicians to be forced
For Immediate Release January 29, 2015
OTTAWA
– “The
assault on freedom of conscience that is spreading across our country
ought to be of grave concern to every freedom-loving Canadian ,” MP
Maurice Vellacott said upon learning of yet another province (this
time his own) that plans to force physicians to participate in
morally objectionable procedures, including those that kill. “No
health care worker should be forced against their will to take part
in the killing of another human being. It would be a grotesque
violation of their human dignity.”
The College of
Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan (CPSS) has adopted in
principle a policyi
which it basically “cut and paste” from the Conscience Research
Group’s (CRG’s) Model Policy on
Conscientious Objection in Medicine.ii
Mr. Vellcott
asked a series of questions that paint a disturbing picture of the
process, or lack thereof, that went into CPSS’s adoption of this
objectionable policy: “Was the CPSS aware that the drafters of the
Model Policy,
notably Professor Jocelyn Downie of Dalhousie University, are
abortion and euthanasia activists? Did the CPSS solicit input from
anyone other than Professor Downie and her team at the CRGiii
before adopting this policy? Did the Saskatchewan College let on to
anyone else that it was even considering this issue? Is the CPSS
aware that this policy was rejected by the Canadian Medical
Association (CMA)?”
Mr. Vellacott
explained: “Professor Downie and
co-author Sanda Rodgers, in a 2006 guest editorial in the CMA
Journal, ignited a firestorm of controversy when they falsely claimed
that CMA policy requires physicians to make abortion referrals
regardless of their conscientious/religious beliefs. As Sean Murphy,
Administrator of the Protection of Conscience Project, points out in
his recent news release, that claim was repudiated by the CMA and
vehemently rejected by physicians. And partly as a result of that
negative response, Professor Downie turned her attention to the
regulatory Colleges to try to convince them to impose mandatory
referral.”iv
Earlier this
month, Mr. Vellacott spoke out against a similar draft policy of the
College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO). At that time,
he expressed concerns that if the Supreme Court of Canada strikes
down Canada’s current ban on euthanasia or assisted suicide, then
CPSO’s policy would mean Ontario’s
physicians would have a ‘duty to refer’ patients for these
life-ending procedures. He stressed that no other jurisdiction that
currently allows euthanasia or assisted suicide imposes such an
obligation. v
“While the
CPSO policy is not identical to the CPSS/CRG Model
Policy, in principle it is the
same—a coercive attempt to involve physicians in the killing of
some of the most vulnerable members of our human family,” Mr.
Vellacott said. “The sheer fact that these Colleges of Physicians
and Surgeons feel that a coercive policy of referral for these
controversial procedures is necessary, is itself testament to the
fact that there is something inherently problematic about these
procedures in the first place. If they were procedures just like any
other medical procedure, there’d be no need to coerce physicians
into sacrificing a fundamental part of who they are—their very
consciences—in order to provide them.”
“No
good can come from forcing a doctor to practice medicine in a way
they find morally reprehensible. Killing the consciences of our
medical doctors will cause inestimable harm to the people of Canada
and society as a whole.”
“One cannot
help but wonder, what is the real motivation of those pushing us down
this dangerous path? And will we have the courage and wisdom and
foresight to stop it?”
For
information on providing input to CPSS on its draft policy, visit:
http://www.cps.sk.ca/CPSS/CouncilAndCommittees/Council_Consultations_and_Surveys.aspx
– 30 –
For further information and comment,
call (613) 992-1966 or (613) 297-2249; email:
maurice.vellacott.a1@parl.gc.ca
i
The College of Physicians
and Surgeons of Saskatchewan (CPSS) is currently seeking input on a
conscientious objection policy dubbed “Conscientious Refusal,”
which it has adopted in principle. This policy would require
physicians who
object to providing certain “legally permissible and
publicly-funded health services” to “make a timely referral to
another health care provider who is willing and able to accept the
patient and provide the service.” In cases where the patient’s
“health or well-being” would be jeopardized by a delay in
finding another physician, the physician would be forced to provide
the service even when it “conflicts with physicians’ deeply held
and considered moral or religious beliefs.” See:
http://www.cps.sk.ca/Documents/Council/2015%201%2019%20Conscientious%20Objection%20policy%20approved%20in%20principle%20by%20Council.pdf
iv
“Saskatchewan
physicians to be forced to do what they believe to be wrong,”
Protection of Conscience Project news release, Jan. 27, 2015,
v
See Jan. 8, 2015 news release at:
http://www.mauricevellacott.ca/2003%20MV%20Speaks/Jan.%208,%202015%20-%20MV%20Release%20-%20No%20legal%20%27duty%20to%20refer%27%20for%20euthanasia%20or%20assisted%20suicide%20anywhere%20in%20the%20world.pdf
; and Backgrounder at:
http://www.mauricevellacott.ca/2003%20MV%20Speaks/Jan.%208,%202015%20-%20MV%20Release%20-%20No%20legal%20%27duty%20to%20refer%27%20for%20euthanasia%20or%20assisted%20suicide%20anywhere%20in%20the%20world%20-%20Backgrounder.pdf
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