Canada
College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba
Policies & statements relevant to freedom of conscience
Standard of Practice
Good Medical Care, 10 (Conscience-based Objection)
Updated to 2021 Mar 19
10.1 A conscience-based objection is an objection to participate in a
legally available medical treatment or procedure based on a registrant's
personal values or beliefs.
10.2 A registrant must not promote his or her own values or beliefs when
interacting with a patient.
10.3 On the grounds of a conscience-based objection, a registrant who
receives a request about a medical treatment or procedure that a patient
needs or wants may refuse to:
10.3.1 Provide it;
10.3.2 personally offer specific information about it;
or
10.3.3 refer the patient to another member who will
provide it.
10.4 A registrant who refuses to refer a patient to another registrant or to
personally offer specific information about a medical treatment or procedure
on the grounds of a conscience-based objection must:
10.4.1 clearly and promptly inform the patient that the registrant chooses not to provide a medical treatment or procedure on the
grounds of a conscience-based objection;
10.4.2 provide the patient with timely access to a
resource1 that will provide accurate
information about a medical treatment or procedure;
10.4.3 continue to provide care unrelated to a medical
treatment or procedure to the patient until that physcian's services are no
longer required or wanted by the patient or until another suitable registrant
has assumed responsibility for the patient;
10.4.4 make available the patient's chart and relevant
information (i.e., diagnosis, pathology, treatment and consults) to the registrant(s) providing a medical treatment or procedure to the patient when
authorized by the patient to do so; and
10.4.5 document the interactions and steps taken by the
member in the patient's medical record, including details of any refusal and
any resource(s) to which the patient was provided access.
1. Acceptable resources may include but are not
limited to other registrants, health care providers, counsellors and publicly
available resources which can be accessed without a referral and which
provide reliable information about the available medical treatments or
procedures.
Project Annotations
The policy is simple, clearly written and encompasses direct and indirect participation, while ensuring that patients have access to information needed for medical decision-making. It can be applied consistently to all morally contested procedures, including euthanasia and assisted suicide. The expectation of co-operation in a patient-initiated transfer of care is the norm in jurisdictions outside Canada where euthanasia and assisted suicide have been legalized.
Related
Physician freedom of conscience in Manitoba