Objectors to be Denied Diplomas

Discriminatory diplomacy?

Triple Helix, Autumn, 2000
Christian Medical Fellowship (United Kingdom)
Reproduced with permission

Doctors who have a conscientious objection to prescribing post-coital contraception or IUCDs that act after fertilisation will no longer be able to obtain the Diploma of the Faculty of Family Planning (DFFP) of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. According to the College's October 1999 Guidelines, while 'doctors who hold moral or religious reservations about any contraceptive method are very welcome to undertake the training', they will not be eligible for a diploma if they 'restrict (their) repertoire of methods'. Whilst the absence of a diploma does not yet disqualify a doctor from giving contraceptive advice, it seems that job discrimination against Christian doctors who hold conservative ethical views is now inevitable.