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29 December, 2003
Thoughts on euthanasia in the UK
Debate about legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide continues in
Britain. The Evening Gazette quotes member of parliament
Dr. Marjorie Mowlam, a former cabinet minister, as recommending that Britain
should "look at voluntary euthanasia."
Baroness Warnock has written in support of Lord Joffe's bill that would
legalize such procedures. Dr Michael Irwin, chairman of the Voluntary Euthanasia Society,
resigned after being arrested for conspiracy in connection with the death of
a euthanasia campaigner on the Isle of Man. The doctor attended the
patient with a large number of sleeping pills, but says that the man died
without taking them. The problem that legalization would pose for
conscientious objectors within the medical profession does not appear to be
attracting attention.
Meanwhile a 43 year old Lancaster man is going to court to ensure that he
is protected from doctors who might stop his nutrition and hydration.
Leslie Burke suffers from a degenerative brain disease, and worries that
General Medical Council (GMC) rules will be used to justify stopping his
food and fluids at a later stage in his illness. He argues that the
current GMC rules do not require physicians to obtain court approval before
doing so.
17 December, 2003
Creative solution to accommodation of conscientious objectors
The Abortion Supervisory Committee in New Zealand has reported that many
health care professionals in the country do not wish to perform abortion.
This was apparently revealed in a report from the Committee in December,
2002. The Committee's latest report, published this month, states that
this has made it necessary to fly abortionists into the country. This
demonstrates that accommodation of conscientious objectors is possible, if
there is sufficient imagination and political will.
12 December, 2003
Protection of conscience bill re-introduced in U.S. Congress
Bills are now before both houses of congress in the United States that would
prohibit governmental discrimination against health care providers who
decline to be involved in abortion. The Abortion Non-Discrimination
Act (ANDA) is bill
HR3664 in the House of Representatives and
SB1397 in the
Senate. [Fact
sheets]
5 December, 2003
Doctors'
group urges new attitude toward euthanasia
In a development that appears to underline the need for protection of
conscience legislation, the Scientific Organization for Flemish General
Practitioners has issued a statement to the effect that it will work with
groups like "Life's End Information Forum" to assist Belgian doctors whose
patients are demanding euthanasia under Belgian law. The legalization
of euthanasia in Belgium, the group says, "demands a change in attitude from
many doctors." 203 patients have been killed by euthanasia since
September, 2003, when euthanasia was legalized. [Expatica]
Strategy for Center for Reproductive Rights may threaten freedom of
conscience worldwide
Citing internal memos from the Center for Reproductive Rights, the Catholic
Family & Human Rights Institute reports that the Center's long-term plan is
to establish state-financed abortion on demand, as well as other "sexual
rights", as human rights that will be enforced by international tribunals.
The organization, proceeding by what it describes as "stealth", will
attempt to have existing international agreements interpreted in this
fashion, and also plans to develop "soft norms" in the form of customary
rules that acknowledge such 'rights' as "reproductive autonomy" - for
children as well as adults. (See
Secret
Memos Reveal Worldwide Pro-Abortion Legal Strategy) It appears
that an example of a "soft norm" is the policy of the College of Pharmacists
of British Columbia against freedom of conscience for pharmacists. (See
Project Report
2001-01).
4 December, 2003
Bioethics professor
advocates sale of organs
Dr John Harris, professor of bio-ethics at Manchester University, has told
the British Medical Association that living donors should be able to sell
their organs. The suggestion was challenged by Dr Jacqueline Laing,
senior lecturer in the department of law at London Metropolitan University,
and contradicts a ruling by Britain's General Medical Council ( See
British doctor suspended six months for encouraging organ trade).
To put the suggestion into practice would clearly create conflicts of
conscience for many health care workers.
Religious objections
undermined by priests
"Undercover" Sunday Times reporters who purported to be parents of large
families approached fourteen Catholic priests to ask for advice about using
artificial contraception. Eight of the fourteen priests contradicted
Catholic teaching by advising them that they could do so. The Times
exercise clearly illustrates the problem faced by health care workers whose
religious objections to certain procedures or drugs are undercut by demands
from co-religionists supported by their own religious authorities. [Times]
2 December, 2003
Nurse may be reinstated
A South African nurse will be able to apply for work if she succeeds in
re-registering as a nurse. She was was struck off the nurses' register
and banned from practice for12 months because she she was found to have
shouted at women having abortions, leaving them to deliver their own dead
babies and clean up the results. She states that at the time of the
incidents she was suffering from claims that severe work stress that
resulted in nightmares and emotional agony. Reports have not
indicated whether or not the nurse was compelled to participate in
procedures to which she objected for reasons of conscience. (See
South African nurse convicted)
1 December, 2003
Concern voiced re:
European moral imperialism
Bishop Joe Duffy, head of the Catholic hierarchy's Committee on
European Affairs, commenting upon embryo research proposals being considered
in Europe, added remarks to the effect that performance of abortions by
third world Catholic hospitals should not be a condition for funding from
the European Union
November 29, 2003
American Civil Liberties Union opposes freedom of conscience for religious
institutions, affiliates
The Supreme Court of California will hear arguments against a state law
that requires employee prescription drug plans to include contraceptive
coverage, even if the employer is a religious entity that objects to
contraception for moral reasons. Such laws also exist in Arizona,
Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Georgia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North
Carolina, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont and Washington. The issue is
significant for hospitals and charities that adhere to the teaching of the
Catholic Church, which proscribes contraception as sinful. The law is
supported by the American Civil Liberties Union. [Las
Vegas Sun]
29 November, 2003
College of Pharmacists still opposed to freedom of conscience
The Annual General Meeting of the BC College of Pharmacists meeting in
Burnaby, British Columbia, again rejected a motion in support of freedom of
conscience. The motion was defeated 33-9. (Address
to College Council and Pharmacists, AGM, College of Pharmacists of B.C.).
For background on the situation in British Columbia, see
"Autonomy", "Justice"and the Legal Requirement to
Accommodate;
In
Defence of the New Heretics;
Project Report
2001-01
28 November, 2003
Euthanasia
interest continues in the United Kingdom
A poll conducted by Nursing Times magazine is being cited by euthanasia
advocates as evidence favouring legalization of euthanasia and assisted
suicide. Two thirds of the 2,700 respondents said that they wanted
"voluntary euthanasia" legalized. 40% reported that they had
administered pain relief to patients, knowing that the drugs could hasten
death. However, the term "voluntary euthanasia" was defined to include
withdrawal of life support, which does not always constitute
euthanasia. Similarly, the possibility that life may be shortened
by the use of pain-killing drugs does not preclude their use when the
intention is not to kill the patient but to relieve suffering. The
failure to make these distinctions makes it difficult to assess of the
results of the survey. It is clear that one third of the nurses
surveyed opposed euthanasia, a position supported by the Royal College of
Nursing and the British Medical Association. (British
Medical Association rejects assisted suicide). This indicates that
legalization of the procedure would generate significant ethical conflicts
among health care workers.[BBC]
It appears that the government's controversial draft Mental
Incapacity Bill will not be introduced during this parliamentary session.
However, the House of Lords Liaison Committee has recommended that a
committee study "assisted dying", a euphemism for assisted suicide.
The news was welcomed by Lord Joffe, who believes that the public is
becoming more open to assisted suicide as a result of the case of Diane
Pretty. (
Push for euthanasia continues in United Kingdom ;BBC
reports "British woman denied right to die")
27
November, 2003
Abortion
Legalized in St. Lucia
Conflicts of conscience among health care workers can be expected in St.
Lucia. The procedure was legalized a week after a parliamentary debate
on the subject was cancelled due to protests that included a petition signed
by 9.000 of the 160,000 island residents. The new law will allow
abortion in cases of rape, incest and to protect the "health" of the mother.
26
November, 2003
Euthanasia in Europe
The Federal Health Ministry of Belgium reports that 203 people were killed
by euthanasia by September, 2003, a year after the procedure was legalized.[Expatica]
A Swiss assisted suicide clinic run by Dignitas is being
investigated in connection with the deaths of a Frenchman and British
couple. The Frenchman had Alzheimers, which brings into question the
possibility of informed consent, while the British citizens were not
terminally ill. A double suicide of French twins suffering from
schizophrenia is also under investigation.
In France, a doctor and nurse are suspects in the death of a
terminally ill cancer patient who was killed by lethal injection.
The news items seem to indicate continuing interest in the
legalization of assisted suicide and euthanasia, and the cases under
investigation are likely to be cited as reasons for doing so.
21 November, 2003
Proposal for euthanasia in
Lagos
Olubunmi Cardinal Okogie of Lagos has criticized a proposal made by a judge
in the country that the National Assembly should consider legalizing
euthanasia. Legalization of the procedure would have serious
implications for conscientious objectors among health care workers.
19 November, 2003
In vitro
research causes protests in Kenya
Catholic, Protestant and Muslim leaders in Kenya have condemned work by
three scientists who are trying to develop low-cost in vitro fertilization
techniques. The denunciation illustrates the potential for conflicts
of conscience for Kenyan health care workers whose views are represented by
the religious spokesmen.
18 November, 2003
Mental
incapacity bill controversy continues in UK
The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children is urging Britons to
contact their members of parliament to prevent the introduction of the
government's draft Mental Incapacity Bill into parliament. On the
other hand several organizations, including the Alzheimers Society, Down's
Syndrome Association and Mental Health Foundation are supporting the bill.
Critics of the bill charge that it will allow euthanasia by withdrawal of
nourishment and fluids from incapacitated patients, which would place
objecting health care workers in a difficult position. [See
Unprecedented number of letters received by parliamentary committee]
Freedom of conscience for pharmacists in US and UK under attack
A chemist (pharmacist) in Bridgnorth, England, may face discipline
because she refused to dispense the morning-after pill for religious
reasons. Despite the fact the the woman demanding the pill was able to
obtain it from another pharmacy on the same street, she has filed a
complaint for the purpose of suppressing freedom of professionals to
practice according to their religious beliefs. [Shropshire
Star]. Meanwhile, a similar attack on freedom of conscience for
pharmacists is underway in Wisconsin, USA. Pharmacist Neil Noeson
refused to dispense birth control to a woman at a K Mart Pharmacy in
Wisconsin in the summer of 2002, and now faces a disciplinary trial in
Madison, Wis. on 18 December, 2003; the Wisconsin Pharmacy Board is
attempting to revoke his licence. (Police
Used to Intimidate Objecting Pharmacist;
Support requested for Wisconsin pharmacist).
Euthanasia
advocate dead, wife arrested
Patrick Kneen, a euthanasia/assisted suicide advocate who helped convince
the Isle of Man parliament to consider legalizing assisted suicide, is
reported to have died a month ago of prostate cancer. However his
widow has now been arrested in connection with his death, apparently as a
result of a letter she sent to a local newspaper. Continuing pressure
for legalization of assisted suicide and euthanasia is a source of concern
for health care workers who do not want to be compelled to participate in
such procedures.
8 November, 2003
Wisconsin Attorney General moves against freedom of conscience
In a non-binding opinion, the Attorney General of Wisconsin has asserted
that health insurance plans that cover prescription drugs must also include
coverage for contraception. Democrats in the legislature have been
attempting to force such coverage even upon those who would object to such
coverage for reasons of conscience.
4 November, 2003
Alberta pharmacist
finally reaches agreement
After three years of uncertainty, Maria Bizecki, a Christian pharmacist in
Calgary, Alberta has finally received confirmation that the Alberta College
of Pharmacists will accept the agreement she has negotiated with her
employer that will allow her to refuse to dispense drugs which she declines
to dispense for reasons of conscience. She was suspended by her
employer for over a year and incurred substantial legal bills. (See
Alberta
Pharmacist Vindicated for Pro-Life Stand)
29 October, 2003
Protection from 'wrongful birth' and 'wrongful life' lawsuits proposed in
Wisconsin
The Wisconsin Senate Judiciary, Corrections and Privacy Committee has heard
testimony urging legislators to support a statutory ban on "wrongful
birth" and "wrongful life" lawsuits. Such suits are brought by parents
who sue doctors should a child be born with a disability, and have a
considerable impact on physicians who are morally opposed to eugenic
practices.
28 October, 2003
Canadian
Assisted Human Reproduction Act passes Commons
A bill that has been criticized for failing to prohibit cloning human
embryos for research and for supporting in vitro fertilization has
passed the Canadian House of Commons and will proceed to the Senate.
It is not certain that the Senate will be able to pass the bill before the
end of the parliamentary session. The Project criticized the bill for
failing to include any provision for protection of conscience. [See
Protection of Conscience Project Submission on the proposed Assisted Human
Reproduction Act (Canada)]
27 October, 2003
Model law
proposed to prevent starvation, dehydration
The National Right to Life Committee
in the United States, responding to the Terri Schiavo case, has drafted a
model state law to protect people in similar circumstances. The
director of medical ethics for the organization asserted that the Schiavo
case is an example of a common practice in American nursing homes and
hospitals, which implies that conflicts of conscience among health care
workers on this issue may be widespread.
Anti-Muslim discrimination identified in England
Dr Jafer Qureshi, a leading Muslim doctor, told a London conference
that Muslims and medical students are being discriminated against
because of their pro-life views. He said that some cases may be taken
to the Commission for Racial Equality.
26 October, 2003
Judge in Schiavo case
said to be mistaken
Three doctors, including Nobel prize nominee William Hammesfahr, insist that
Judge George Greer was mistaken in ordering the removal of Terri Schiavo's
feeding tube. Hammesfahr is a neurologist and a national expert
on persistent vegetative states. Their opinions contrast sharply with
those of Mrs. Schiavo's former physician, illustrating the potential for
ethical conflicts among team members providing treatment or care for such
patients.
23 October, 2003
Resistance to restoration of nourishment
Terri Schiavo was removed from Woodside Hospice because staff were unwilling
to obey the governor's order to reinsert her feeding tube. Her own
doctor resigned from the case, apparently unwilling to do so, and two
doctors who came to the hospice for that purpose were refused entry.
Mrs. Schiavo was taken to another hospital, where fear of being sued by her
husband's lawyers delayed re-instatement of feeding by hospital staff.
They eventually began intravenous nourishment and rehydration, and she was
later returned to the Woodside Hospice. A guardian with limited legal
responsibilities has been appointed for her by a court, but her husband, who
has been trying to have her nourishment cut off, continues to be legally
responsible for her care. These incidents illustrate not only
different approaches to conscientious judgement, but the impact of
institutional policy and law on ethical decision making.
22 October, 2003
Universal
eugenic screening urged in Britain
Britain's National Institute for Clinical Excellence
has recommended universal screening of infants in utero for Downs
syndrome, with a view to aborting those identified.
21 October, 2003
Retired judge, former governor on assisted suicide 'advisory
committee' in Vermont
The Vermont chapter of End-of-Life Choices
(formerly the Hemlock Society) has established an 'advisory
committee' on assisted suicide that includes a retired federal
judge, two former state governors and a former lieutenant governor.
The organization has asked for donations to support lobbying for a
bill now before the state legislature. The Vermont Medical Society
will survey its members by mail before deciding its position on physician assisted
suicide.
20 October, 2003
Emergency bill passed in Florida to prevent starvation,
dehydration
On 20 October, 2003, the Florida House of
Representatives, called into emergency session, passed "Terri's Law,"
which orders a halt to all deaths being caused by dehydration and
starvation in Florida. Acting under the authority of new
legislation, Florida Governor Jeb Bush ordered the reinsertion of
Terri Schiavo's feeding tube.
19 October, 2003
Schiavo denied asylum and Holy Communion
Despite having assurance from Canadian doctors and nurses who
volunteered to provide care, Canadian
Immigration Minister Dennis Coderre refused to grant
Terri Schiavo asylum in Canada. She is reported to have
reacted with joy when Monsignor Thaddeus Malinowski arrived, turning
in her chair to greet him. Malinowski is a Catholic priest who
has visited Schiavo weekly for over three years. However,
during the sacrament of anointing (known to non-Cathoics as the
'last rites') he was forbidden to give her a quarter of a wafer of
Holy Communion ( a full wafer is about the size of a quarter), even
soaked in water. He was told police would use force to prevent
him from doing so. Schiavo's husband has already ordered her
cremation immediately following her death, despite her family's
request for an autopsy to examine injuries that had been sustained
after her paralysis. These incidents highlight some of the
practical issues that can generate conflicts of conscience for
health care workers involved.
15 October, 2003
Feeding tube removed, starvation watch begins
Terri Schiavo's feeding tube was removed in accordance with an order
from Circuit Court Judge George Greer of Florida. A
demonstration/vigil is in progress outside the hospice where Schiavo
is expected to die. The Canadian Immigration Minister has been
approached by Human Life Matters, an advocacy group for disabled
persons, and asked to grant Schiavo temporary asylum in Canada.
The request is largely symbolic, because Schiavo's legal guardian,
her husband, is the one who has obtained the court order to have her
feeding tube withdrawn.
Schiavo's
family, which has been trying to prevent her from being starved and
dehydrated to death, has released a videotape made in August, 2001.
The tape demonstrates that she is not in a "persistent vegetative
state". Lawyers for her husband, who obtained the order for
removal of the tube, had threatened to prevent the family from
seeing her without their supervision if they released the tape.
They have now made good the threat.
The case is generating widespread interest in the ethics of causing
death by withdrawal of food and fluids from patients who are not
dying.
Schreeuw om Leven,
President of the Dutch group Cry for Life, noted the
similarity of the Schiavo case to that of Mrs. Ineke Stinissen, a
comatose patient. Mrs. Stinissen's died of starvation in 1990
after her husband obtained a ruling from a Dutch court that
permitted the withdrawal of food and fluids. He described the
Stinissen case as one that paved the way for legalization of
euthanasia in Holland.
"Global
bioethics" proposed by French president
France's President Jacques Chirac has told the
general conference of United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
that the world needs an international
convention
on bioethics that has the force of international law. He
suggested that the UN should begin by making a declaration of basic
bioethics principles.
UNESCO's Director-General, Koichiro Matsuura, believes that
finding universal agreement on such principles would be problematic.
This point is illustrated by the fact that
Chirac's focus is on scientific research, even as the French justice
minister is encouraging discussion about legalizing euthanasia. [See
Is Bioethics Ethical?;
When We Were Philosopher Kings;
Which Medical Ethics for the 21st Century?;
Establishment Bioethics;
The Bioethics Mess]
14 October, 2003
Italian and French politicians differ on euthanasia
The French parliament has created a commission to study legalization
of assisted suicide, and the
French minister of justice is promoting a debate on euthanasia on
his ministry's website. In contrast, the Italian Minister of Health,
speaking at a medical conference in Milan, has rejected the
legalization of euthanasia and proposals to halt forced-feeding.
13 October, 2003
Clash of opinions in Vermont about
assisted suicide
Life Choices (formerly the Hemlock Society),
and
the Alliance for Ethical Healthcare
conducted polls that have yielded completely contradictory results
on the issue of legalizing assisted suicide in Vermont.
Surveys of doctors in two hospitals showed them to be 58% and 74%
opposed to the practice. The state governor does not support a
bill, now in the legislature, that would legalize assisted suicide.
10 October, 2003
Cases highlight deaths by starvation, dehydration
An injunction was issued by the English High Court to compel a
hospital to provide food and fluids to a 91 year old woman who had
been admitted after having suffered a stroke. The family
claimed that the woman was being left to die by the hospital.
The woman died a few days later. The case is being cited by
Dr. Jacqueline Laing as evidence that the government's draft Mental
Incapacity Bill would increase the vulnerability of incapacitated
patients and prevent family members from intervening to secure care
and treatment.
Meanwhile, a federal judge in Florida refused to
allow
patient Terri Schiavo to learn to eat and drink
before the court-ordered removal of her feeding tube.
10 organizations concerned with the rights of disabled persons plan
to intervene in the case, but the judge's ruling on the issue of
letting her learn to eat and drink cannot be appealed.
English scientist wants 'discarded'
eggs for research
Dr Daniel Brison of St Mary's hospital, Manchester,
wants the law changed so that eggs obtained for in vitro
fertilization, but not used, can be used to make human embryos for
research purposes. He described opposition to the practice as
an "ethical barrier" that has to be 'got over' in order to address a
'shortage' of human embryos available for research. It
appears that his suggestion would involve abolishing the requirement
for donor consent. Continually 'pushing the ethical envelope'
may increase the likelihood of conscientious objections arising
among health care workers.
6 October, 2003
Assisted suicide bill
likely to be vetoed
The position of the Vermont Medical Society on assisted suicide remains
unclear. The Society is to meet on 17-18 October and will likely
consider the proposed assisted suicide bill. The Governor of Vermont
has indicated that he would veto the bill if it passes.
2 October, 2003
French
doctor claims euthanasia probably happens daily
Dr Frederic Chaussoy, who states that he switched off the life support
machine of a comatose patient, has claimed that euthanasia is likely a daily
occurrence, concealed by a "tradition of hypocrisy" that encourages doctors
to lie about it. The claim that euthanasia is a frequent occurrence is
commonly made by euthanasia advocates, but is often supported by reference
to practices that are not considered euthanasia, like the withdrawal of
burdensome treatment.
Confused
euthanasia discussion in Korea
The Korea Times reports that financial pressures and traditions cause many
families to take terminally ill patients from hospitals to die at home.
The practice is being described by the medical profession as 'passive
euthanasia', though it is by no means clear from the report that ordinary
treatment or care is being withdrawn. The failure to distinguish
between euthanasia and legitimate refusal or withdrawal of burdensome or
extraordinary treatment can have the effect of making euthanasia appear to
be a normal or acceptable practice, increasing pressure for its
legalization, with ensuing complications for conscientious objectors.
'Neutrality' being
considered in Vermont
Vermont legislators are now studying three bills in committees. One
bans physician-assisted suicide, one legalizes it, and one would establish a
commission to provide advice on palliative care and pain management.
It is reported that a position of 'neutrality' on physician-assisted
suicide is being considered by the Vermont Medical Society. This is a
good illustration of the false concept of moral neutrality that is often
used to justify suppression of conscientious objection. Faced with two
choices - supporting or rejecting assisted suicide or euthanasia - to
declare neutrality would be an assertion by the Society that there is no
moral difference between killing or not killing the patient; killing the
patient would, therefore, be a morally permissible option.
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