30 March, 2006
Ukrainian doctors seek
asylum in Ireland
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe expressed concern about allegations of trafficking of babies for
adoption and of aborted or premature babies for "scientific" purposes in the
Ukraine. With the knowledge of the police, two Ukrainian doctors, Vadym Lazaryev and Vladymyr Ishchenko,
began an independent investigation into payments made to women undergoing
abortions. The doctors learned that the suspect practices had support
in high levels of the government and were advised to discontinue the
investigation. After an
attempt was made on their lives they fled the Ukraine and sought asylum in
Ireland. They are appealing the rejection of their application.
The case suggests that health care workers in the Ukraine could face
considerable pressure to participate in morally controversial procedures
that are supported by professional and governmental elites.
14 March,
2006
Alliance
Defense Fund supports Washington pharmacists
Responding to news that the Washington State Pharmacy Board will soon be
considering the issue of freedom of conscience for pharmacists, the
Alliance Defense Fund has sent a
letter to the Board
urging it to adopt a policy protecting the right of conscience for
pharmacists. [ADF
news release]
13 March, 2006
Georgia house rejects even limited freedom of conscience measure for
pharmacists
Georgia
House Bill 566 has been rejected by the Georgia House of
representatives. It would have continued to permit conscientious objection to
abortion by physicians and hospitals under the existing statute, and would
have allowed conscientious objection by pharmacists only if the objector
were to provide advance written notice to employers, and facilitate the
abortion by referring a patient elsewhere. An identical bill was
passed in the Georgia senate last month. It is reported that regulations of the Georgia State Board of Pharmacists
already protect pharmacists who refuse to provide a
medication for reasons of conscience.
[Access
North Georgia,]
11 March, 2006
Freedom of conscience called for in 2nd trimester abortions
A district health board in New Zealand plans to subsidize travel to
Australia for women who want 2nd trimester abortions because staff decline
to perform the procedures. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
supports the decision. Alastair Haslum, vice-president of the
organization, describes 2nd trimester abortion as "a very different and
difficult procedure" that sometimes involves induced labour. The
College does not believe that health care workers should be pressured to
take part. [Radio
New Zealand]
Washington State Pharmacy Board to consider freedom of conscience policy
The Washington State Pharmacy Association supports protective policies for
pharmacists who choose not to dispense a drug for reasons of conscience.
Planned Parenthood and other defenders of 'freedom of choice' are against
allowing pharmacists the freedom to choose. It is unlikely that
the State Pharmacy Board will make a decision about a proposal
to protect freedom of conscience in the near future. [Seattle
Post Intelligencer]
10 March, 2006
New Hampshire rejects
freedom of conscience
The state motto of New Hampshire is "Live Free or Die," but state
legislators have decided that the first half of the statement does not apply
to pharmacists in the state. The state legislature, supported by
abortion advocates who, in other circumstances, declare themselves to be
pro-choice, has defeated
House Bill No.
1492, which would have permitted freedom of choice for pharmacists who
object to dispensing certain drugs for reasons of conscience. New Hampshire allows sales of the
morning after pill over the counter without a doctor's visit. A recent
survey indicated that over half of the state pharmacists believe that they
should be able to decline to dispense the drug. [LifeSite.com]
[Concord
Monitor]
9 March, 2006
Concerns voiced re: Mental
Capacity Act
A government invitation for public comment on a draft 'code of practice'
for the Mental Capacity Act (2005) has been greeted with criticism that the
document will establish protocols for euthanasia "by starvation, dehydration
and neglect." The bill could prove to be problematic for health care
workers who do not wish to cause the death of patients by such means.
8 March, 2006
Minnesota
House committee approves pharmacist protection
Minnesota Bill H.F. 3032
has been approved by a committee of the state House of Representatives.
It exempts objecting pharmacists from providing or referring
for a drug to which they object for reasons of conscience, provided that the
pharmacist has notified his employer in advance, and the employer can
accommodate the pharmacist without undue hardship. The onus is placed
on the employer, not the objecting pharmacist, to develop protocols to
ensure patient access. The principal weakness in the bill is the fact
that it does not provide for conscientious objection by a pharmacy owner.
This, combined with the stated intent of the legislature, implies that it is
public policy in the state of Minnesota that people who object to certain
kinds of drugs for reasons of conscience shall not be permitted to own
pharmacies in the state or otherwise engage in independent pharmacy
practice.
6 March, 2006
UK journalist makes news
Birmingham journalist Maureen Messent has been arrested for murder as a
result of her admission in a column for the Birmingham Mail that she used
morphine to kill her great aunt, who had lung cancer. The development
is part of the continuing debate in the United Kingdom about the
legalization of assisted suicide and euthanasia [The Guardian].
27 February, 2006
Pakistani nurse gang raped for refusing to perform abortions
A young nurse working at the Mattrai health centre refused to perform
abortions on two women, despite constant pressure from their families for
six months. Abortion is illegal in Pakistan after the fourth month of
pregnancy if the woman's life is not in danger. A representative of
the Punjab Healthworkers' Association stated that this is not the first time
this has occurred. Gang rape is reported to be used as a punishment
for women for "social transgressions" in that part of the country. The
families of three men who raped her are now threatening her family. It
is possible that UN demands for aggressive population control has
contributed to this situation. Pakistan agreed tomake population
control a "national priority" after the the UNFPA
threatened to withdraw US $250 million in health programs unless the
country accepted $35 million dedicated to birth control and abortion. [LifeSiteNews.com]
Georgia Senate
measure offers limited protection
The senate in the American state of Georgia has passed
Georgia Senate Bill 123 .This bill permits conscientious objection to
abortion by physicians and hospitals. However, it permits
conscientious objection by pharmacists only if the objector facilitates the
abortion by referring a patient elsewhere.
24 February, 2006
Indian judge orders sterilizations: threatens dismissal for non-compliance
Judge Amrit Abhijat of the district court in the northern Indian state of
Uttar Pradesh has ordered each "Class III employee in the Medical Health
Department" to bring 10 people in for sterilization by the end of March.
His order also applies to teachers and village leaders. Even Catholic
teachers are expected to promote sterilization among their pupils and their
families. The order is strongly opposed by the Indian Catholic
bishops' conference. [Zenit, AsiaNews]
22 February, 2006
Connecticut plans oppressive
bill
A spokesman for the Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford, Connecticut, has vowed
that the Archdiocese will oppose a planned bill that would force all
hospitals in the state to provide the potentially abortificaient
morning-after pill.
21 February, 2006
Conscientious objection by anaesthesiologists to participation in execution
The execution of convicted murderer Michael Morales by lethal injection has
been postponed in California because anaesthesiologists concluded that what
was being required of them was unethical. [LA
Times]
16 February, 2006
Polish woman in
court over denial of abortion
Alicia Tysiac, who states that she was warned she could become blind if she
continued with a pregnancy, is arguing that her human rights were violated
by gynaecologists who said that there was no medical justification for an
abortion. Abortion is permitted by law in Poland in cases of rape,
danger to the mother's life and congenital disability. Tysiac suffered
retinal bleeding during the subsequent Caesarean birth of her third child.
The case is being heard by the European Court of Human Rights. A
ruling that abortion is a human right could possibly eliminate any existing
accommodation for conscientious objection to the procedure. [Medical News Today, 16
February, 2006]
New
bill would 'presume consent' for organ donation
A private member's bill introduced in the Ontario legislature would
mandate organ donation by anyone who had not previously stated that he
did not want his organs donated. The bill's sponsor claims that it “will help ease the organ donation crisis.”
Concerns are being expressed that 'presumed consent' will encourage
euthanasia or organ harvesting from living but severely disabled or
injured people. Conscientious objectors would be adversely
affected should those fears be realized.
14 February, 2006
Wal-Mart ordered to carry morning-after pill in Massachusetts
In a move likely to have serious consequences for conscientious objectors,
the Massachusetts Board of Pharmacy unanimously decided to order Wal-Mart
pharmacies in the state to carry the morning-after pill. The order
appears related to a civil suit launched by three women who are trying to
force Wal-Mart to carry the drug. [AP]
[CMA
Commentary]
10 February, 2006
Catholic
hospital in UK in breach of code of ethics
Lord Brennan has advised Cormac
Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor, to put an end to the practice of
referral for abortion and prescription of the morning after pill at St. John and St Elizabeth Hospital,
an officially Catholic facility known for its popularity with celebrities.
In a report commissioned by the Cardinal, Lord Brennan
concluded that the hospital is acting in violation of Catholic teaching,
and thus in breach of its own code of ethics. The hospital claimed to
be practising 'ecumenism.' [The
Telegraph]Hospital policy could have created significant problems for
conscientious objectors working within the hospital.
9 February, 2006
Lack
of conscience protection worries professionals in Oregon
The November ballot in Oregon may include a referendum on entrenching
"access to effective and affordable health care" in the state constitution. Initiative Petition 40,
which needs more than 100,000 signatures by July to make the November
ballot, would order the legislature to develop a plan by July, 2009.
What is of concern is the lack of any protection of conscience measure in
the petition. Catholic physicians and the Oregon Catholic Conference
oppose the petition for this reason. They are concerned that to
entrench the provision of health care as a right without allowing for
conscientious objection might lead to physicians being forced to participate
in morally objectionable acts, such as assisted suicide, which is legal in
the state.
Wisconsin pharmacist
loses appeal
Pharmacist Neil Noesen has lost an
appeal
to the Barron County Circuit Court and has been ordered to pay $20,000 to
the state pharmacy
board to cover the cost of proceeding against him for professional
misconduct. He had refused to dispense birth control pills for
reasons of conscience.
Slovak
government in crisis over conscience treaty
The Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), a main
partner in Slovakia's coalition government, left the coalition after the
Prime Minister refused to allow a vote to ratify a
treaty
with the Vatican for the protection of conscience. The KDH refused
to accept a suggestion that negotiations with the Holy See be re-opened to
revise the draft so that it would be easier to pass. It has been
suggested that the Prime Minister wanted to avoid a vote for fear the
proposed treaty would be defeated. [MichNews.com]
6 February, 2006
Protection
of conscience bill defeated in South Dakota
House Bill 1184
was defeated by one vote in the South Dakota House of Representatives.
The bill had been introduced by Representative Don Van Etten, a retired
surgeon. One of the bill's opponents claimed that it might result in
patients in rural areas being denied life-saving treatment. [AP
report]
3 February, 2006
Catholic hospitals in three states dispensing morning-after pill on demand
According to a report from an abortion activist group that purports to be
associated with the Catholic Church, 16 Catholic hospitals in Washington
State, New York State and California dispense the potentially abortifacient
morning-after pill on demand. Since Catholic teaching holds that all
forms of contraception are intrinsically evil (except when used to prevent
conception in the case of rape) and direct abortion can never be morally
justified, it is possible that hospital staff who adhere to Catholic
teaching will face conflicts of conscience. Resolution of conflicts is
especially stressful in such circumstances because an employee who asserts
his own freedom of conscience implicitly challenges the Catholicity of the
institution and of co-religionists who implement or co-operate with
the policy. [Report]
Objectors to consider mass resignation from Australian Medical Association
Over 200 members of the Guild of St Luke, a Catholic physician's society,
will consider resigning en masse from the Australian Medical
Association and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
because those organizations are supporting the use of mifepristone (RU486).
[LifeSiteNews.com]
2 February, 2006
Wal-Mart
sued to force store to carry morning-after pill
Wal-Mart in Massachusetts is being sued in an action orchestrated by
activists who want to force the store to provide the morning-after pill.
If the suit is successful, objecting pharmacists who work for the company
may face pressure to dispense or refer for the drug. [Yahoo]
30 January, 2006
Conscientious
objection in Steinbach, Manitoba
Three of five pharmacies in the town of Steinbach, Manitoba, do not carry
the morning after pill, according to a report published in the Winnipeg Free
Press. A reporter visiting those stores was referred to the local
Shoppers Drug Mart for the product. The report suggested that the
strength of Christian belief in the town was a factor influencing the
distribution of the drug. Objectors did not wish to be interviewed for
the story, which is not surprising. Aside from any personal discomfort
they might have with media interviews on the subject, there is a risk that
they would be targeted by activists and harassed by complaints of
professional misconduct. The Code of Ethics of the Manitoba
Pharmaceutical Association is silent on the subject of referral, and a
suggestion that pharmacists should pre-arrange alternative sources for
morally controversial products was formally rejected by the Association in
2000. Despite this, the report asserted that objecting pharmacists are
required to refer for the drug if they are unwilling to dispense it. [Winnipeg
Free Press] [Project
News Release]
Freedom of
conscience in the balance in Nevada
A story in the Las Vegas Sun suggests that Caliente, Nevada pharmacist Adam Katschke
"could be the poster boy" for the controversy over conscientious objection
by pharmacists. It reports that he is the only pharmacist at his
pharmacy, and that if he were to refuse to dispense a medication, the
next-nearest pharmacy is in St. George, Utah - 110 miles away [Las
Vegas Sun] However, the drug is also available at Smith's Food &
Drug Centers Inc: Pharmacy in Mesquite, Nevada, about 63 miles from Caliente.
Moreover, the Grover C Dils Medical Center (also known as the Lincoln County
Memorial Hospital and Lincoln County Medical Clinic) is located in Caliente,
and this suggests that at least one physician is practising in the area.
If the shorter trip to Mesquite is not practical, the drug could be
dispensed from hospitals or physicians' offices, though such alternatives
might require changes to current regulations or practice. According to
the Las Vegas Sun Report, the State Pharmacy Board, which was unable to
resolve the problem of conscientious objection in December, 2005, and has
been asked to leave the matter for the state legislature. The
legislature, with a Democratic majority in the Assembly and Republican
majority in the Senate, has been deadlocked on the issue.
Freedom of conscience issues "gaining new prominence" in USA
The Washington Post reports that debate about freedom of conscience in
health care "is gaining new prominence" and "intensifying" in the United
States. Rob Stein of the Post reports that more than a dozen states
are considering protective legislation, about half of that number have
measures drafted specifically for pharmacists, while others are looking at
broader protection. While the report cites pharmacists' concerns about
the morning after pill as the factor that launched the current debate in the
USA, it acknowledges that there are a number of other contentious issues
that contribute to the developing controversy. [Washington
Post]
28 January, 2006
Civil suit by
pharmacists begins in Illinois
Four pharmacists represented by the American Center for Law and Justice have
filed suit in Madison County, Illinois, against the U.S. drugstore chain
Walgreen Company. The company placed them on indefinite, unpaid leave
when they refused to dispense the morning after pill for reasons of
conscience. Walgreen claims that it had to do so to comply with
an order by the governor of Illinois to dispense the drug, even though the
order was not directed at individual pharmacists. The four worked at
night in Walgreen's stores that were open 24 hours, and were the only
pharmacists on duty at those locations. Walgreen's policy permits
objectors to decline to dispense the drug, on condition that they
immediately refer the patient to another pharmacist, a practice unacceptable
to many objectors, though not to all. The company offered to transfer
the pharmacists to nearby stores just over the border in Missouri and keep
them on payroll while they applied for licences to practise there. It
is likely that one of the pivotal issues in the case will be the nature of
the accommodation offered to the pharmacists. This may obscure the
problems associated with referral and with the legality of the state
governor's decree. [Reuters]
27 January, 2006
Missouri pharmacist fired for
exercising freedom of conscience
Heather
Williams, a pharmacist who refused, for reasons of conscience, to dispense
or refer for the morning-after pill, was fired by Target, a chain store.
Ironically, the Target store where she worked did not stock the drug.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that she had maintained her position as
a part-time Target pharmacy employee for five years prior to the incident
that led to her dismissal on 1 January, 2006. Williams is represented
by lawyer Ed Martin, who is also acting for four Walgreens pharmacists fired
in St. Louis, Illinois. She has filed a complaint with the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission of Missouri and blames Planned Parenthood,
not the Target store, for the action taken against her. She said that
a Planned Parenthood campaign led Target to demand that pharmacists sign an
agreement to dispense the morning after pill or refer for it, first ensuring
that the store to which the customer was referred had the drug in stock, and
even providing directions to the store.
26 January, 2006
British doctor
commits suicide in Switzerland
Dr Anne Turner of the United Kingdom, who stated that she had previously
attempted suicide by drug overdose, committed suicide in Zurich at a
facility run by the Swiss assisted suicide organization, Dignitas. She
was suffering from supranuclear palsy, a degenerative disease. [BBC,
24 January, 2006] British police are seeking legal advice about whether
or not
to question Dr. Turner's family, who went with her to
Switzerland. Meanwhile former chairman of the Voluntary Euthanasia
Society, Dr. Michael Irwin, is under investigation for counselling or
encouraging five people wanting to commit suicide in Switzerland, and for
accompanying one patient for that purpose. [The Telegraph, 26 January and The
Guardian, 25 January] Reports of 'suicide tourism' by British
citizens have become a staple of news reports in the euthanasia/assisted
suicide debate that is ongoing in the United Kingdom. For example,
Boris Johnson, a Conservative MP who also writes for the Daily Telegraph,
supports Lord Joffe's assisted suicide bill as a 'reasonable' measure that "might be better than seeing increasing numbers of British people
forced to take
their lives in a foreign country." [The Telegraph, 26 January,
2006]
Washington nurses
protest retaliation
Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA) has filed an unfair labour practice charge against
the Virginia Mason Medical Center, alleging that the Center retaliated and discriminated against
registered nurses who refused flu vaccinations by forcing them to wear masks.
There is no evidence that masks prevent the transmission of influenza.
An arbitrator, supported by a Federal Court ruling, had held that the Center
could not force nurses to be vaccinated against influenza as a condition of
employment. The case did not involve conscientious objection to
vaccination, but the retaliation alleged is consistent with the kind of
harassment sometimes experienced by conscientious objectors. [WSNA
News Release]
17 January, 2006
Survey
suggests low rate of euthanasia in United Kingdom
The BBC reports that about 0.5% of deaths in the United Kingdom - 2,000
deaths - were the result of "involuntary euthanasia." 936 patients
were said to have been killed at their own request. The figures come
from a survey of 857 doctors by Brunel University, of whom only 2.6%
favoured legalization of euthanasia or assisted suicide. [BBC, 17 January]
Such surveys can be used to support euthanasia (based either on the need to
control the practice or the belief that relatively few people would be
directly affected by a change in the law) or to oppose it (on the grounds
that few people seek it out and most medical practitioners are opposed to
it.) What is of interest from the perspective of freedom of conscience
is the fact that the apparent opposition of the majority of the medical
profession illustrates the importance of robust protection of conscience
measures should the procedure be legalized.
16 January, 2006
New York Court supports
repressive law
By 3-2
decision a court in New York has upheld a state statute that
compels employers to pay for contraceptives as part of medical insurance
benefits for employees, even if employers object to contraception for moral
reasons. The New York State Catholic Conference is likely to appeal
the ruling.
12 January, 2006
Missouri Gov. Blunt
attacked for support of freedom of conscience
On 26 September, 2005, a Target pharmacist in Fenton, Missouri, refused,
for reasons of conscience, to fill a prescription for the morning after pill
for a 26 year old woman. Planned Parenthood responded with a
nation-wide protest against freedom of conscience. Governor of
Missouri, Matthew Blunt, has defended freedom of conscience for health care
workers. As a result, he has been accused of "waging war" on women.
[Lifenews.com]
10 January, 2006
Slovak opposition party urges referendum on conscience
treaty
Vladimír Mečiar, chairman of the Slovak opposition party Movement for a
Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), is asking for a referendum on the
draft
treaty between the Slovak Republic and the Holy See. [Slovak
Spectator]
6 January, 2006
Federal Court supports nurses against mandatory flu vaccination policy
Registered Nurses who refuse to be vaccinated against the flu will no longer
be threatened with dismissal by the Virginia Mason Medical Center in
Washington State. A United States District Court upheld an
arbitrator's decision against the Center in favour of the Washington State
Nurses Association (WSNA). Innoculation
against the flu can no longer be considered a condition of employment at the
hospital. The WSNA supports and encourages flu vaccination among its
members, but opposes coercive measures to achieve that end. Barbara
Frye, RN, Director of Labor Relations at WSNA, said that the Association
advocates "education, accessibility and incentives" to encourage vaccination
- "not brute force." While the case did not involve conscientious
objection to vaccination, the position of the WSNA offers a reasonable
alternative to the suppression of freedom of conscience among health care
workers. [Yahoo]
[WSNA
News Release]