October-December, 2005
December
Christus Medicus Foundation reports that 29 American states demand that
contraceptive coverage be provided in insurance plans, while 15 require the
costs of in vitro fertilization be covered. The requirements violate the
freedom of conscience of groups morally opposed to such procedures. [Christus
Medicus]
According to Christus Medicus Foundation, "precedent-setting values-centered
faith-based health plans for federal employees in Illinois and Indiana" have
been established. [Christus
Medicus]
A 40 page opinion from the European Union's "Network of Independent Experts
on Fundamental Rights" includes a demand that physicians who object to
abortion for reasons of conscience should be compelled to refer patients to
someone who will provide the procedure. The opinion was issued concerning a
concordat between the Slovak Republic and the Holy See. The issue of
referral for morally controversial procedures in Europe involves not only
abortion, but euthanasia. Two universities and a professional physicians
association in Belgium have advocated mandatory referral for euthanasia [Belgium:
Redefining Palliative Care and Forcing Physicians to Refer for Euthanasia],
while Committees of the Parliament of the United Kingdom decided that
forcing conscientious objectors to refer for euthanasia is contrary to
European human rights law [Mandatory
Referral Contravenes European Charter]. The opinion issued by the
"Network of Independent Experts" included a comment to the effect that,
where euthanasia or assisted suicide is legal, conscientious objection must
not be allowed to prevent access to the service. [Friday
Fax] [Brussels Journal]
[The
Guardian]
Nurse Wilhemien Charles, who began a civil action in Vereeniging in
2004, will be returning to the Labour Court for a hearing in January. She
sued the Gauteng health department, Kopanong Hospital, Gauteng health MEC
Gwen Ramakgopa, and the Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang on the
grounds that she was harassed and intimidated into assisting at abortions.
The case began in the Equality Court, moved to the Johannesburg High Court,
and then referred to the Labour Court, where a hearing was held in November.
[News Item] [South
African nurse denied position]
University hospital in Lausanne, Switzerland, has announced that it will
permit physicians or members of "Exit," the Swiss euthanasia society, to
assist terminally ill patients to commit suicide at the hospital. Suicides
will begin after 1 January, 2006. Similar policies are being considered by
Bern University Hospital and Basel University Hospital, while Zurich
University Hospital plans to study the issue in future. [Hospitals
discuss changing euthanasia rules] In January, 2004, the Swiss Academy
of Medical Sciences announced that it no longer opposed physician assisted
suicide. [Medical
body relaxes rules on euthanasia] It is possible that health care
workers will be expected to facilitate assisted suicide, but the reports do
not indicate that any provisions have been made to ensure that those
objecting to it are not adversely affected by the new policy. Note that, in
Belgium, legalization of euthanasia was followed a year later by demands
that objecting physicians help the patient find a colleague willing to
provide the service. [Belgium:
Redefining Palliative Care and Forcing Physicians to Refer for Euthanasia]
The American Center for Law and Justice has filed suit on behalf of three
pharmacists who were effectively dismissed by Walgreens because they refused
accommodation of their conscientious conviction that they should not
dispense a drug that may end the life of a human embryo. [Walgreens
suppresses freedom of conscience]
Andrew Wragg, who smothered his disabled son, Jacob, pleaded guilty to
manslaughter on grounds of "diminished responsibility," has been given a two
year suspended sentence in the United Kingdom. The victim suffered from
Hunter Syndrome, and the killing was characterized as "mercy killing." [The
Telegraph, 13 December] Meanwhile, a proposal being considered in the Czech
Republic would see euthanasia legally distinguished from murder and subject
to a lesser penalty. Religious leaders have objected to the suggestion.
[Lifenews.com, 13 December] The developments appear consistent with an
increasingly tolerant view of euthanasia in Europe, which is likely to have
serious consequences for health care workers who oppose the procedure. [Belgium:
Redefining Palliative Care and Forcing Physicians to Refer for Euthanasia]
Professor Ian Wilmut and other researchers have approached the British Human
Fertilisation and Embryology Authority about their plans to make hybrid
rabbit-human embryos as an alternative to cloning human embryos. [The
Telegraph]
Catholic hospitals in Massachusetts were not returning media calls following
an announcement by Governor Mitt Romney that they would be required to
dispense the potentially abortifacient morning after pill to rape
complainants. The State Public Health Commissioner had earlier said that
institutions operated by religious denominations morally opposed to
potentially abortifacient drugs were exempt from the new law. A spokesman
for the Massachusetts Catholic Conference said that the failure of the
Legislature to repeal previous legislation provides grounds for continued
refusal to dispense the drug for reasons of conscience. [Romney
reverses stand]
Following hearings in which strong views were expressed by opposing sides,
the Nevada Board of Pharmacy decided not to include a conscience clause in
regulations it was considered. The policy would have obliged pharmacists to
notify employers of moral objections to medications, leaving it to the
pharmacist and employer to decide how to handle a request for the drug. [LifeNews]
[Kolo TV] [Limited
protection of conscience measure considered]
The 4th District Court of Appeals in California has allowed two doctors the
defence of religious objection in response to a civil suit by a lesbian
claming that she had been discriminated against because they refused to
artificially inseminate her. The physicians argued that their decision was
based upon the fact that she was not married, not upon her sexual
preferences. Moreover, they had referred her to a fertility specialist and
had agreed to provide all of the pre- and post-natal care as well as absorb
any of the costs incurred by the patient as a result of the referral. [Benitez
v. North Coast Women's Care Medical Group]
Chinese Deputy Health Minister Huang Jiefu has admitted that the organs of
executed prisoners are sold to foreign transplant recipients, but has
promised that new guidelines are being drafted to end the sale of organs for
profit. Many health care workers would have conscientious objections to
facilitating the delivery or use of such organs.
A French prosecutor has dropped criminal charges against a doctor and mother
who killed her son by overdosing and lethally injecting him and switching
off a life support machine. The 19 year old had been left paralyzed from the
neck down and almost blind as a result of a motor vehicle accident in 2003
and had repeatedly asked to die. The prosecutor's decision was based on what
he said were the "moral aspects" of the case. [The Telegraph] The case may
illustrate increasing acceptance of euthanasia and assisted suicide in the
French legal profession. Since law in secularist societies seems to be given
the status of morality, support for euthanasia in the French legal
profession may significantly influence social and political opinion, leading
to increased pressure on the medical profession to accept the procedures.
This would have serious consequences for conscientious objectors in the
health care professions.
Princeton bioethicist Peter Singer, known for his support for abortion,
infanticide and euthanasia of elderly and disabled persons, told the Foreign
Policy Journal (September/October edition) that by 2040 only "a rump of
hard-core, know-nothing religious fundamentalists" would continue to believe
in the value of human life from conception to natural death. Such
disparaging comments do not augur well for freedom of conscience in health
care.
Four Walgreens pharmacists in Illinois have been ordered to dispense the
potentially abortifacient morning after pill or move to another state. In
the meantime, the company has suspended them without pay because they
decline to dispense the drug for reasons of conscience. The company insists
that this is required by Illinois law, citing an order made by state
governor Rod Blagojevich that pharmacies must fill prescriptions despite
conscientious objections. Company spokesman Tiffani Bruce claims that if
action had not been taken against the pharmacists the company and its chief
pharmacist could have their licenses revoked. In an
interview aired on CNN, Governor Blagojevich contradicted his own
earlier assertions that his order bound pharmacies, not individual
pharmacists. [See testimony of the governor's
senior policy advisor,
Ms. Sheila Nix ]. He now says that the company "is following the
law," and that a pharmacist "needs to do his job." He also demonstrated
alarming ignorance of the Illinois
Health Care Right of Conscience Act, saying that it does not apply
to pharmacists, though the definition of "health care personnel" in the act
is clearly broad enough to include the profession.
November
The Canadian Liberal government has lost a confidence vote in the House of
Commons and a general election has been called for 23 January, 2006. A
euthanasia bill that was debated in the House on 31 October and was to have
been debated again in December died with the dissolution of parliament. It
made no allowance for conscientious objection.
A recently published British government document, "Confidential Enquiry into
Maternal and Child Health (CEMACH)," reports that as many as 50 babies
survive late term abortions each year in the United Kingdom. The conflicts
of conscience that can arise in such situations have been documented in
Alberta, Canada [Foothills
Hospital Now Forces Nurses To Participate In Genetic Terminations;
Nurses At Foothills Hospital Rebel Over The Horrifying Results Of Late-Term
'Genetic Terminations'] Both the College of Physicians and Surgeons of
Alberta and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists recommend
that live births be prevented by killing infants in utero with
injections of potassium chloride before abortions are commenced. It appears
that few physicians in the United Kingdom are willing to do this. [The
Times]
A 24 year old woman who is deaf, blind, and physically and mentally disabled
and requires full-time care is attempting to sue her mother's doctor for
failing to diagnose the rubella infection that is believed to have caused
the disabilities. Her lawyers argue that her mother would have had an
abortion had she been aware of the problems. This kind of civil action, if
successful, can have a significant impact on physicians who have moral
objections to eugenic screening practices [News
Telegraph].
Planned Parenthood is not satisfied with Target Corporation's general policy
of forcing objecting pharmacists to refer for morally controversial
products. Target allows a limited exemption for objecting pharmacists only
in the case of the morning-after pill, on the condition that the pharmacist
finds a colleague or another store that will fill a prescription. Planned
Parenthood is demanding that all prescriptions be filled in the store where
they are presented. Media focus on the demands put conscientious objection
to referral into eclipse, so much so that some groups supportive of freedom
of conscience appear to believe that Target Corporation's policies are
entirely satisfactory. [Star
Tribune] [Citizen
Link]
Lord Joffe has re-introduced a revised
Assisted Dying for the Terminal Ill bill in the British House of Lords.
The bill would legalize physician assisted suicide but not, apparently,
euthanasia. Among other things, the bill no longer requires referral by an
objecting physician; the sole requirement is that an objecting physician
transfer medical records when asked to do so by the patient. Section 7
permits conscientious objection by any person.
The UN Human Rights Committee has faulted Canada because it maintains a
policy that permits deportation of persons to a country where they may be
tortured or subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. At the root
of this complaint is an implicit acknowledgement that one can be complicit
in an immoral act if one facilitates a wrongful act by another. This is the
basis of the concern of those who object to referral for morally
controversial services [HRC
85th Session, Consideration of Reports].
An
appeal has been filed by Neil Noesen, the Wisconsin pharmacist
disciplined earlier this year by the Wisconsin State Pharmacy Examining
Board for refusing to fill or transfer a prescription for contraceptives.
The
decision appealed against warrants careful reading. [News
release]
October
A court in Arizona referred to in vitro embryos as "pre-embryos."
The use of the term was not necessary to its decision, but was adopted by
the judges in what they claimed was an attempt to remain 'neutral' while
dealing with a volatile issue. It would have been correct to use the term
"early embryo," but the judges feared that this would imply that the embryos
were human beings. [East
Valley Tribune]
Parents participating in a long term experiment in Houston, Texas, are
being allowed to choose the sex of their child by using in vitro
fertilization and sex selection through pre-implantation genetic diagnosis
(PGD. It is not known whether the embryos of the unwanted sex will be
killed, donated or used for research. Scientists at the Baylor College of
Medicine will be studying the long-term consequences of the practice. Sex
selection is a morally controversial practice even among people who approve
of in vitro fertilization and PGD.
Speaking at the annual meeting of the Missouri Baptist Convention, Missouri
Governor Matthew Blunt stated that he would work for a law to protect
pharmacists who refuse to dispense the morning-after pill for reasons of
conscience. [Post-Dispatch]
Nevada's state Pharmacy Board has been flooded by calls and e-mails
about a proposal to allow pharmacists to decline to fill prescriptions that
violate their conscientious convictions. They would, however, be forced to
find another pharmacist to fill the prescription, something that some
objectors are unwilling to do. [Reno
Gazette-Journal] [Referral:
A False Compromise] [Belgium:
Forcing Physicians to Refer for Euthanasia] [Mandatory
Referral Contravenes European Charter]
In Malaga, Spain, a group of pharmacists is refusing to sell condoms for
reasons of conscience. The
Diario de Malaga, reports that they
believe that "the selling of condoms involves a clear incitement to murder,"
which appears to be a reference to the fact that condoms cannot eliminate
the transmission of STD's, including HIV/AIDS. While the Anti-AIDS
Association of Malaga has received complaints about the pharmacists, a
spokesman for the College of Pharmacology in Malaga considers them
unimportant, since there are many other pharmacies nearby where condoms can
be obtained. [
Catholic
News Agency]
Dr. Joseph Hassan of Nelson, New Zealand, has notified his patients that
he will no longer prescribe contraceptives or refer patients for
sterilization. Dr. Hassan, a Catholic, made the decision after lengthy
reflection upon the teaching of the Catholic Church. His decision appears to
have been communicated to the media by one of the patients who received the
letter he had sent explaining his position. The letter recommended patients
to alternative contraceptive providers. Popular opinion, as measured by news
polls, is split, but he has been supported by colleagues, the New Zealand
Medical Association and even by applauded for "being upfront" by National
Family Planning medical adviser Dr Christine Rike. The response from the
medical community, and especially Dr. Rike, is a welcome change from what
objectors are accustomed to encountering in North America. [Central
North Island Catholic GP balks at contraception] [Catholic
GP's stance 'could lift rate of teen pregnancy'] [Family
Life news release]
The Louisiana State Attorney General has ordered an enquiry into 45 deaths
that occurred during Hurricane Katrina at the Memorial Medical Centre in New
Orleans. It has been alleged that the deaths were cases of euthanasia (The
Times). If an investigation discloses that euthanasia was carried out, it
will likely generate calls for legalization of the procedure.
Wisconsin governor Jim Doyle has again vetoed legislation that would have
prevented health care workers from being forced to participate in
specifically identified procedures that are known to be morally
controversial, including abortion, sterilization, euthanasia,
physician-assisted suicide, experimentation on in vitro embryos, stillborn,
miscarried or aborted fetuses. (Badger
Herald; The
Capital Times)
Lord Joffe will redraft his Patient (Assisted Dying) Bill
so that
it will permit assisted suicide but not euthanasia and bring it back before
the House of Lords.
Although assisted suicide is illegal in the United Kingdom, the Swiss
assisted suicide organization Dignitas plans to open an office in Britain,
as it did in Germany. The plan illustrates the continuous pressure being
applied to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide, which would have
serious consequences for conscientious objectors to the procedures.
A question in the British Medical Journal about the BMA's decision to drop
its opposition to assisted suicide elicited an overwhelming rejection of the
BMA's position by correspondents. The result is a strong indication of the
importance of protection of conscience laws for health care workers.
Dr. Albert Yuzpe of Vancouver's Genesis Fertility Centre has suggested
that pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is a service that could be
paid for by federal and provincial health departments. PGD is a eugenic
screening technique used to test embryos in vitro for a variety of
genetic defects. Health Canada plans to introduce regulations to govern PGD
in May. At present, 10 to 15 embryos may be conceived and grown for three
days, at which point they are tested. Healthy embryos are implanted or
frozen; those with genetic defects are killed or used for research. (The
Ottawa Citizen) Normalization of the procedure through regulation and health
department subsidies is likely to create and expectation of service that
could pose problems for those with moral objections to the procedure.
London Bishop Ronald Fabbro has issued a pastoral letter warning against the
legalization of euthanasia that is being proposed in a private member's bill
(Bill C-407) to be debated in the Canadian House of Commons at the end of
October. The bill includes no protection of conscience provision.