Breaking News
1999-2000
 

23 November, 2000
Pharmacists threatened with discipline
The deputy registrar of the College of Pharmacists of British Columbia has warned that pharmacists who refuse to dispense the 'morning after pill' for reasons of conscience are in breach of the College's code of ethics.  She invited anyone refused the pill to report the dissenting pharmacist to the College, presumably with a view to prosecution for a breach of what the deputy registrar called "pharmacy legislation" (The Province).  The Project Administrator responded to the article with a letter to the editor.

3 November, 2000
Italian pharmacists called upon to exercise conscientious objection
Pharmacists in Italy have been called upon by the Catholic church to be conscientious objectors against the 'morning after pill', since it sometimes acts as an abortifacient. The president of the Italian Bishops' Conference suggested that pharmacists should be allowed to claim conscientious objector status, a protection afforded to doctors and nurses who do not wish to participate in abortion.  Governors of northern Lombardy (around Milan) and Latium (around Rome) have  affirmed  that the rights of pharmacists to conscientious objection would be respected, despite the government's position that pharmacists would be breaking the law if they refused to supply the drug.

31 October, 2000
Morning-after-pill an abortifacient: conscientious objection by health care workers urged
In a document released by the Pontifical Academy for Life, the mechanism of the morning-after pill is described in detail.  The document concludes that "it is clear that in fact the morning-after pill is nothing other than an abortion procured by chemical means," encourages health care workers to practice "conscientious objection" against the "aggression" aimed at the "human
embryo."

16 October, 2000
Irish Committee Reported Split on Abortion in Ireland
The Irish All-Party Committeeon the Constitution  has reportedly failed to reach a consensus on the legality of abortion in Ireland.  It is believed that three different approaches will be proposed by the different political parties.  There is no word on whether or not any of them will take note of issues of conscience.  The Project made a submission to the Committee in June after testimony before the Committee indicated that many obstetricians would refuse to involve themselves in abortion for moral or religious reasons.
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2000/1014/hom12.htm

American Academy of Family Physicians President comments on obligations
Richard G. Roberts, MD, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, is reported to have said that physicians do not have a "statutory, constitutional or ethical" duty to perform procedures to which they object, but that the medical profession has an obligation to help patients access necessary legal services.  The remarks appear to distinguish between  personal and corporate obligations.

American Catholic Foundation seeks laws to protect freedom of conscience
The second of two declarations being prepared by the Christus Medicus Foundation advocates enacting   federal "Health Care Right of Conscience" legislation to protect health care insurers and health care providers.

12 October, 2000
Pharmacists press for freedom of conscience in British Columbia
A resolution that would allow pharmacists to opt out of dispensing morally controversial products such as the Morning After Pill gained substantial support from pharmacists at the Annual General Meeting of the College of Pharmacists of British Columbia in Vancouver on October 12th.  A news release from Concerned Pharmacists for Conscience noted that the loss of the show of hands vote was seen not as a defeat, but as a sign that more work is necessary.

9 October, 2000
Doctor's abortion view 'cost him job'
The North Glasgow Universities trust has said it will look into the interview process involving Dr. Everett Julyan, 26, a Christian, states that he was denied employment with North Glasgow Universities Trust because he would not participate in abortion training.  The matter is under investigation by the Trust.  See summary and link to the story.

17 August, 2000
Washington mayor refuses to sign bill
Washington, D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams refused to sign the D.C. City Council bill that would have forced employers to provide medical coverage for contraceptives.  See the story.

7 August, 2000
Senator Perrault's Bill Stalled (Canadian Senate)
Senator Perrault and Senator Anne Cools spoke to Senator Perrault's protection of conscience Bill S-11 at second reading.  The chair of the Senate's legal and constitutional affairs committee would not support its introduction into the committee for hearing.   Further efforts to introduce the bill into committee failed  The Senate has now adjourned for the summer, and there can be no further progess until the fall.

Interested persons should contact the senators who sit on the social affairs, science and technology committee and urge them to accept the bill the next time Senator Perrault seeks to introduce it.   Committee members should also be asked to ensure that there are full and fair hearings on the bill, and to support it when it comes time to vote on it so that it can proceed to third reading.

The senators who make up the social affairs, science and technology committee are:

Michael Kirby, Chair - Lib.
Tommy Banks - Lib.
Gérald Beaudoin - P.C.
John Bryden - Lib.
Catherine Callbeck - Lib.
Sharon Carstairs - Lib.
Erminie Cohen - P.C.
Joan Cook - Lib.
Joyce Fairbairn - Lib.
Wilbert Keon - P.C.
Marjory LeBreton - P.C.
Lucie Pépin - Lib.
Brenda Robertson - P.C.
Douglas Roche - Ind.
J. Bernard Boudreau (or Daniel Hays), Ex Officio - Lib.
John Lynch-Staunton ( or Noel Kinsella), Ex Officio - P.C.

27 July, 2000
Pharmacy Practice cites Ward, criticizes freedom of conscience in pharmacy
While Pharmacy Practice has not yet published the Project's response, (e-mailed 13 July) an editorial against freedom of conscience in pharmacy appears in the July issue.  It not only quotes Marianne Meed Ward's accusation of selfishness with approval, but compares conscientious objectors in pharmacy to a 'Deep South' (USA) bigot who refused to serve blacks in his restaurant.

Irish Committee may recommend abortion in Ireland
It has been reported that Brian Lenihan, chairman of the Oireachtas committee which has been considering the issue of abortion in the Irish Republic, believes a consensus exists to advise rejection of an outright constitutional ban. He believes the committee's recommendation will be to allow abortion in cases where the mother's life is at risk.   In view of this possibility, the Project submission to the Committee was timely.

Catholic Charities files lawsuit against the State of California
A law passed in 1999 included a requirement that would force Catholic hospitals to provide employee insurance coverage for artificial contraception.  This has resulted in a lawsuit against the state.  An application for a preliminary injunction is to be heard in a Sacramento Court in late August.

17 July, 2000
Responses to Canadian Pharmaceutical Journal
The Project submitted a response to the Canadian Pharmaceutical Journal, directing attention to significant errors in Frank Archer's legal analysis of human rights law on accommodation of religious or moral belief, and challenging prejudicial remarks made about conscientious objectors in his review.  A second critical article by a constitutional lawyer was also submitted to the Journal.

Measures taken to support freedom of conscience in Washington D.C.
Rep. Ernest Istook (R-Okla.), chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the District of Columbia, included language in the D.C. spending bill to stop the District from implementing a measure that would force its employers to include birth control in their health insurance coverage if they pay for prescription drugs.

13 July, 2000
Washington, D.C. rejects protection of conscience
Washington, D.C., city council decided that all insurance policies in the district that cover prescription drugs must cover contraceptives as well.  (See article).  

25-27 June, 2000
Conscientious objectors told to leave profession of pharmacy at Canadian conference
Representatives speaking up for freedom of conscience in pharmacy were told that they should leave the profession by more than one colleague at the Canadian Pharmacists Association Conference in Saskatoon.  Frank Archer's article (see below) was cited against them.

12 June, 2000
Attacks on freedom of conscience in pharmacy in Canada continue
The Toronto Sun published an article by columnist Marianne Meed Ward mocking the position taken by conscientious objectors among pharmacists.

In May, 2000,  prior to the decision by Manitoba pharmacists,  a letter to the editor of the Pharmacy Practice (an on-line publication) had argued against the idea largely on grounds of economic self interest.  (See the response of the Project)

Also in May,  the Canadian Pharmaceutical Journal, owned by the Canadian Pharmacists Association, published a column asserting that pharmacists must dispense drugs despite conscientious objection, or refer patients to a pharmacist who will  The column was written by Frank Archer,  described as a bio-medical ethics tutor at the University of British Columbia, and a member of the ethics committee of the College of Pharmacists of British Columbia.  In the same issue, the editor of the Journal declared: "Emergency contraception is here and the majority of Canadians - including most health professionals - are firmly in support. Pharmacists have a professional responsibility to help ensure safe, efficient access to all approved medicines, whatever their personal beliefs."

8 June, 2000
Manitoba pharmacists under attack for protection of conscience policy
The adoption of a protection of conscience policy not dissimilar to those existing in some pharmacy associations in the United States triggered an attack by the Winnipeg Sun in an editorial titled Pharmological farce. (See Project's response)  Coverage in the National Post and Winnipeg Free Press was more balanced.  CBC Radio in Winnipeg hosted an open-line programme on 8 June concerning the issue.

South Africa controversy
Reports from South Africa indicate that there is considerable controversy surrounding the operation of abortion facilities.  It is said that some medical personnel are being forced to participate in abortions despite conscientious objection, while some medical personnel willingly involved in abortions have been subjected to harassment.

Wealthy western nations attacking protection of conscience at the UN
Japan, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the European Union are reported to be trying to make it illegal for health care workers to decline to perform abortions for reasons of conscience.   The negotiations at the Beijing +5 conference are said to have broken down when Nicaragua proposed strong language to protect conscientious objectors.  If accurate, these reports indicate that the US, Australia and New Zealand are attempting to impose on third world countries policies that are not acceptable in their own, since all three countries have enacted protection of conscience legislation for their own health care workers.

2 May, 2000
Controversy continues over 'morning after pill'
The BC Ministry of Health continued to work toward making the 'morning after pill' more readily available at pharmacies, though it abandoned its orginal plans for dispensing the drug without prescriptions.  Spokesmen for Planned Parenthood and the company marketing the drug denied that it was an abortifacient, ridiculing conscientious objectors.  Planned Parenthood and the drug company use a different definition of conception and pregnancy than the objectors.  See responses from the Project and Concerned Pharmacists for Conscience (not published).

8 Apr 2000
Calgary Bishop supports conscientious objectors
Cameron Maxwell of the Edmonton Sun reported that  Calgary's Roman Catholic Bishop, Frederick Henry,  supports pharmacists who refuse to sell "morning after" pills for reasons of conscience, as well as nurses who do not wish to participate in abortion.

Bishop Henry spoke of the need for protection of conscience legislation for all health care professionals.  He noted that it was unfair that physicians could refuse to be involved in abortions, while nurses, pharmacists and others were denied similar consideration.  Henry had first-hand experience with the problems faced by conscientious objectors when he was Bishop of Thunder Bay (SeeBishop protests on behalf of nurses (Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada)(1997) ).  He cited the more recent case of nurses at Calgary's Foothills Hospital to illustrate the need for legislation. (See Foothills Hospital Now Forces Nurses To Participate In Genetic Terminations ;  Nurses At Foothills Hospital Rebel Over The Horrifying Results Of Late-Term 'Genetic Terminations') .

March-April, 2000
British Columbia pharmacists 'must refer or dispense'
The Canadian Medical Association Journal announced that 500 pharmacists in British Columbia would be dispensing the 'morning after pill' without a prescription.  A bulletin from the College of Pharmacists of B.C. (March-April 2000) stated that pharmacists with conscientious objections to dispensing the drug would be required to refer patients, or dispense the drug themselves if that was not possible.  The bulletin also noted that future pharmacy services might expand to include durgs for suicide, cloning, genetic manipulation or execution.

2 February, 2000
Canadian Pharmacists Association re: Conscientious Objection
A report dated February 2nd, 2000,  from Life Site News referred to an article in the January edition of the Canadian Pharmacy Practice journal.  With respect to the drug 'Preven' ('morning after pill'), Jeff Poston, executive director of the Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA), was reported to have commented that while the CPhA "supports the use of the new drug, it also recognizes the pharmacist's right to refuse to fill [a prescription] based on moral or religious beliefs."

10 January, 2000
Insurers may be forced to cover contraception, artificial reproduction
Referring to a story in The Witchita Eagle, Life Site News reported that a proposed health insurance bill would require insurers to cover contraceptives as well as gynecological services.  The Assembly Appropriations Committee in New Jersey was reported to have approved mandatory  insurance coverage for most infertile couples.

1 January, 2000
Canada Safeway orders pharmacists to dispense abortifacients
In a policy statement that included reference to dispensing euthanasia drugs, RU486 and the 'morning after pill', Canada Safeway advised pharmacists who have conscientious objections to dispensing certain drugs that they would be required to do so if a non-objecting pharmacist was not available.

22 December, 1999
Equador tribunals reported ready to punish refusal to do abortions
An article said to orginate in Quito, Equador,  and circulated by Life Site News (Canada), reports that tribunals operating under government auspices will investigate violations of "gender rights" including the "refusal to perform legal abortions."

4 August , 1999
Chinese doctors face jail for refusing to do abortions
Agence France Presse in Canberra reported statements of a Chinese doctor before a committee of the Australian Senate.  She testified to the effect that Chinese doctors who refuse to do abortions to enforce China's 'one child' policy would go to jail.