January-March, 2006
March
The 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.
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]
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,]
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]
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]
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]
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.
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.
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].
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]
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.
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]
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.
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]
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]
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.
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]
Lord Brennan has advisedCormac 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.
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.
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.
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
January
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]
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.
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]
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]
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.
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 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]
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.
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.
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]
Vladimír MeÄiar, 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]
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]