Project Presentations

Therapeutic Homicide and Suicide in Canada: Collaboration, Conscription, Coercion and Conscience

Presented at the Central Oregon Right to Life Conference
Redmond, Oregon 10 September, 2016

Sean Murphy* | . . . The presentation today is about therapeutic homicide and suicide in Canada. More specifically it is about expectations of collaboration, conscription of health care workers, and ongoing attempts to compel participation in morally contested services. . . .
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Sean Murphy* | . . . The context for my presentation is provided by the passage of the Quebec euthanasia law and the pending decision in Carter v. Canada in the Supreme Court.2 Physicians are now confronted by the prospect that laws against euthanasia and physician assisted suicide will be struck down or changed. If that happens, what does the future hold for Catholic physicians and others who share your beliefs? . . .
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Sean Murphy* | Thank you for inviting me to speak to you this evening. C.S. Lewis once observed that a lifetime of learning leaves a man a beginner in any subject, so I am here as a beginner who is still just beginning. The specific focus of the Protection of Conscience Project is freedom of conscience in health care. However, rather than address issues specific to health care I am going to speak more generally about freedom of conscience. I think a broader approach, a bigger picture, will be more useful for you as Rotarians. I'll begin with some notes about the history of freedom of conscience and religion. . .
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Sean Murphy* | Reporting on controversies over freedom of conscience in Canada and the United States last year, National Post reporter Charles Lewis asked the question, "as our society becomes increasingly rights-focused, is there less tolerance for acts of conscience?" Lewis' article was titled, "The next moral quagmire: conscience."I don't suppose that mud wrestling was on your professional horizons when you were called to the bar. Nonetheless, on behalf of the Protection of Conscience Project, welcome to the quagmire. . . .
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Sean Murphy* | . . . First, I want to emphasize that everything I say about the preservation of personal integrity and protection of conscience in health care presumes the kind of caring physician-patient relationship and dialogue that were recommended and modelled for you yesterday by Doctors Reynolds and Genuis. Next, you should be aware that the Project is not out to restrict or eliminate abortion or anything else. We do not take a position on the objective morality or desirability of a procedure or service. . .
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Sean Murphy* | Under the heading Yesterday I will discuss protection of conscience as it relates to early abortion legislation and subsequent developments.When we come to the situation Today, I will explain that there is much more to be concerned about than abortion . . .For Tomorrow, I will not play the prophet, but I will suggest some key issues that need study. I will conclude with some general remarks, and take questions from the audience. . .
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Sean Murphy* |. . . The Project does not engage in debate on the morality of controversial procedures. Articulation of the reasons behind conscientious objection often requires discussion of moral decision making, but this is always done only for the purpose of illuminating an objector's position. . .
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Sean Murphy* |. . .Today I am going to focus on the terms in the title of this presentation - freedom, conscience, and needs - touching, in one place, upon ethics, and concluding with a reflection upon faith and the notion of moral neutrality. . .
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