July-September, 2006
September
59% of registered Illinois voters polled by Copley News Service believe
that pharmacists should be denied freedom of conscience and forced to
dispense the morning after pill. 27% supported freedom of conscience and 14%
were undecided. Objecting Illinois pharmacists are supposed to be protected
by the state's
Health Care Right of Conscience Act, but the state's governor has
directly attacked their legislated freedom with an 'emergency order' that
has led to dismissal of some objectors and lawsuits [See
Suit against Illinois
governor to proceed]. [Copley
News Service]
The Santiago Appeals Court has reversed an earlier decision to suspend
distribution of the 'morning after pill' pending the resolution of a suit
brought against the health Ministry of Chile. The drug will now be provided
free to any woman over 14 years old, without the consent of parents normally
required for minors. The distribution of the drug is highly controversial
because of its potential to cause the death of an early embryo and because
of the decision to exclude parents from the care of their own children.
A decision by the Crown Prosecution Service and comments by a senior
police official suggest that authorities in the United Kingdom are
increasingly unwilling to enforce the law against assisted suicide. South
Wales Police began an investigation of family members involved in the
suicide of a 47 year old man who died from lethal injection at a Dignitas
facility in Switzerland in May, 2006. Police were advised by the Crown
Prosecution Service to cease the investigation on grounds of "public
interest." The Detective Chief Inspector responsible for the investigation
commented that he was "profoundly moved" by his experience with the family
of the deceased and supported the Crown's decision. Statements by the
deceased's father suggest that the case will be used as part of the campaign
to legalize assisted suicide in the United Kingdom. [
BBC]
In the absence of robust protection of conscience legislation, such a
development would likely have adverse consequences for health care workers
unwilling to participate in the procedure.
In a letter to 60 year old Piergiorgio Welby, Italian President Giorgio
Napolitano expressed sympathy for his situation and stated that Italian
parliamentarians should debate the legalization of euthanasia. Welby, who
suffers from advanced muscular dystrophy, had written an open letter to the
president seeking access to euthanasia or assisted suicide that is available
to "the Swiss, Belgians and Dutch." The exchange has provoked public
controversy that reflects the potential for conflicts of conscience among
health care workers if the procedure were legalized. [Life
in Italy]
Ludwig Minelli, founder of the Dignitas assisted suicide facility in Zurich,
anticipates that a case to be heard by the Swiss supreme court will result
in a ruling that will allow assisted suicide for the severely depressed.
Minelli made the prediction while speaking n England. 54 people from the
United Kingdom havc travelled to Switzerland to commit suicide from the UK,
and a 55th is scheduled to die next week. [The
Telegraph]
The fact that British citizens continue to travel to Switzerland to commit
suicide in Dignitas assisted suicide facilities is being cited as reason to
legalize the procedure in the United Kingdom. A pro-euthanasia group
reported that four people travelled from Britain to Switzerland for suicide
in the past six weeks. [Scotland on Sunday,17 September, 2004 ]
Peter Singer of Princeton University believes that infanticide can be
ethically justified for the same reasons that abortion can be ethically
justified. He does not see that any relevant ethical distinction can be made
between a fetus and full term infant, and would give parents the power to
kill disabled newborns "if that was in the best interests of the baby and of
the family as a whole." [BP
News] The interview did not address the question of whether or not
parents should be able to compel ojbectors to fulfil their wishes.
Consistent with Catholic teaching on the subject, St. Elizabeth's Catholic
hospital in Humboldt, Saskatchewan has permanently banned contraceptive
sterilization. The ban followed a unanimous decision by the governing board
after it had obtained legal advice. Sterilization can be obtained at
Saskatoon's City Hospital, about an hour's drive from the town. Monica
Beavis, president of the Saskatchewan Catholic Health Corporation, (SCHC),
explained that the hospital had a mandate from the founding Sisters of St.
Elizabeth "to provide health care according to the Catholic teaching."
Protests against this exercise of religious freedom were quick to
materialize. According to a local radio programme, Dr. Daniel Kirchgesner
claimed that sterilization was an "inherent right for women." Dr. Carrie
Levick-Brown, expressing "shock and disbelief," has started a petition to
have the ban overturned.
An Illinois judge has refused to dismiss a suit brought by seven pharmacists
against Governor Rod Blagojevich's 'emergency' order requiring them to
dispense the morning after pill in spite of their conscientious convictions.
The plaintiffs include five pharmacists who were dismissed by Walgreens, a
large pharmacy chain. [Belleville
News Democrat] [ACLJ
news release]
In England, former convict and editor of the Prisons Handbook, Mark Leech,
has suggested that prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment should be
offered the option of euthanasia. Leech did not consider the implications
that such a policy would have for conscientious objectors to the procedure.
[Daily
Mirror]
Assemblyman Sean Kean is unwilling to support
Bill A2016 because he believes that the protection it offers to health
care profession is too broad. He would prefer a bill that focuses on freedom
of conscience for pharmacists. [Cherry
Hill Courier Post]
Governor Christine Gregoire of the state of Washington would permit
conscientious objection by pharmacists only if another pharmacist in the
store were available to fill the prescription. In the absence of a willing
pharmacist, she would compel objectors to dispense controversial drugs. The
proposal is supported by the state pharmacy association and abortion
advocates. In July, efforts by the state's pharmacy board to ensure freedom
of conscience for pharmacists were met by threats from the governor that it
would be overruled by the legislature, and she would dismiss board members
who supported conscientious objection. [LifeNews.com]
Since 1997, when Colombia's High Court decriminalized euthanasia in cases of
terminal illness, the practice of euthanasia has been unregulated. Senator
Armando Benedetti, of the Social Party of National Unity has proposed a bill
to regulate the procedure. An English language news article reports that the
bill states that "the attending physician. . . shall administer euthanasia."
This wording would impose a legal duty upon physicians to practise
euthanasia, which would cause significant conflicts of conscience among many
practitioners. [Catholic
News Agency]
Dr Colin Lennon of Wiltshire, England, has written in the Western Mail
newspaper to support Lord Joffe's Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill
Bill. Joffe intends to reintroduce the bill in the House of Lords. [Western
Mail, 28 August, 2006]
Second year ob/gyn residents at Yale School of Medicine must complete two
four-week rotations with Planned Parenthood Connecticut that includes
training in abortion techniques and other "family planning" services.
However, residents who provide written notice that they object to abortion
for reasons of conscience are not required to participate in the procedures.
An injunction has been issued by a federal court in Mendoza to stop the
scheduled abortion of a mentally disabled woman whose lawyers had claimed
she was 12 weeks pregnant with a child conceived by rape. Evidence was
presented that the woman's clinical history demonstrated that she was
actually in the 20th week of pregnancy. The case illustrates the problem
that can arise when judicial decisions are based on false or misleading
medical claims. This is particularly true of decisions that set legal
precedents.
Ms. Jenni Murray of the BBC Radio programme Woman's Hour has made public an
agreement with two other women to the effect that if any one of them becomes
incapacitated, the others will kill them. Murray is reported to be angry
that women are "being trapped into caring for dependent parents." [The
Telegraph, 14 August, 2006] While the private arrangement does not make
demands upon conscientious objectors, it is likely that the announcement
will increase demands for legalization of physician assisted suicide and
euthanasia in the United Kingdom. Legalization of the procedures would cause
problems for objectors in health care.
Stocks of Pentothal, the lethal drug used for euthanasia in Belgium,
were temporarily exhausted as a result of administrative and supply problems
following the transfer of a licence for its production. 4,000 bottles of the
drug were to be released to alleviate the shortage. Expatica reported that
30 official cases of euthanasia occur each month, but the actual rate may be
double that. What is of interest in the report was the concern expressed by
a palliative care professor about the unavailability of the drug. Outside
Belgium, palliative care is not associated with euthanasia. However, the
legalization of euthanasia has led to the incorporation of the procedure
into palliative care. This can lead to conflicts of conscience among health
care workers opposed to the procedure. [
Expatica]
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled against Leslie Burke, a 46
year old Lancaster man, who sought a judgement that would prevent doctors
from withdrawing nutrition and hydration from him against his will. The
court ruled that British law affords adequate protection against premature
withdrawal of food and fluids, a finding that is not undisputed. At present,
a coroner in Norwich is investigating a complaint that a woman was
dehydrated to death in a Norfolk hospital. Physician David Maisey testified
at the inquest that he saw people die of dehydration "all the time -- two or
three times a week". [The Times, 8 August] Now Kate Speed, the widow of a
man who died on the same ward, is alleging that her husband also died as a
result of dehydration ordered by the hospital. The hospital insists that he
was not dehydrated at the time of death, and that he died of natural causes.
[See
British ethicist calls for regulation of involuntary euthanasia]
A report by the Scottish Council on Human Bioethics reveals that
fertilisation of animal eggs with human sperm is taking place in the United
Kingdom. The Council has called for a ban on the practice and asked
parliament to prohibit the creation of human-animal hybrids. [SCHB
Report]
Embryos will be conceived to order at an embryo bank in Texas. For about
₤5,000, purchasers will be able to select eye and hair colour of embryos
conceived using sperm and eggs from donors who have never met. [The Daily
Mail, 4 August, 2006] The plan illustrates the range of possibilities made
available in artificial reproductive technology as well as the potential for
conflicts of conscience in the field.
Although the Supreme Court of Justice for Buenos Aires approved an
abortion for a disable woman who was said to have been raped, the ethics
committee at St. Martin's hospital decided against the procedure because the
pregnancy, at twenty weeks, was believed to be too advanced. The case
highlights the conflict that can arise when judicial decisions impose
expectations upon the medical community that conflict with the conscientious
convictions of its members.
July
Having caused a police investigation as a result of writing a column in
which she confessed to euthanasia, Maureen Messent has been charged for the
offence of 'wasting police time.' Police concluded that her great aunt had
died from natural causes, not from a fatal overdose of morphine given by
Messent. The case is part of the continuing campaign for euthanasia in the
United Kingdom. [Timesonline,
29 July 2006]
A British man has described how he helped his wife to kill herself at a
Swiss clinic. Derek Buckley, 72, took his wife Alayne, 61, who suffered from
motor neurone disease, to the Dignitas clinic in Zurich where she was
injected with a lethal dose of barbiturates. Mr Buckley, who is now a
campaigner for assisted suicide in Britain, said, "I have no doubt
euthanasia is being practised in this country and if it were made legal it
would be more controlled." Police have decided not to investigate Mrs
Buckley's death. [Daily Mail, 27 July, 2006]
An inquest into the death of a 91 year old woman at the Norfolk and Norwich
University Hospital has been adjourned. Her family alleges that the woman
was deliberately starved and dehydrated to death in 2003, in contravention
of a court order. The deceased's daughter stated that her mother had begged
for something to eat and drink. [The Times,25 July, 2006] The facts alleged
illustrate circumstances that could easily give rise to conflicts of
conscience among health care workers, particularly those expected to carry
out orders given by superiors.
Abortions have begun in Colombia following a decision by the Colombian
Constitutional Court to remove penalties for performing abortion in the case
of rape, incest, foetal deformity inconsistent with life, and to preserve
the life and health of the mother. It is not clear what impact this will
have on conscientious objectors in health care, since the procedure has not
been officially legalized. [LifeSite, 24 July, 2006]
In contrast to a number of other jurisdictions, Italy's Cassation Court has
precluded "wrongful birth" and "wrongful life" suits by ruling that there is
no "right not to be born." Thus, parents cannot sue doctors who fail to
recommend or facilitate the abortion of a disabled child. and that in
response to parents attempting to sue doctors who fail to recommend abortion
when the child is likely to be disabled. [LifeSiteNews, 19 July, 2006]
The Northwest Women's Law Center, acting for Planned Parenthood and NARAL
Pro-choice Oregon, has succeeded in limiting freedom of choice for
pharmacists who object to dispensing the morning after pill for reasons of
conscience. The Center convinced the Oregon Board of Pharmacy to compel
objectors to refer patients for drugs to which they object. The Board was
quoted as saying that "pharmacists have a choice whether or not to
participate in activities they find morally or ethically objectionable,"
despite the fact that its ruling does precisely that with respect to those
who find referral morally or ethically objectionable.[CNS, 18 July, 2006]
In a column that is a classic illustration of an expert in one field talking
nonsense in another, psychology Professor David P. Barash of the University
of Washington claims that DNA evidence that man and chimpanzees share a
common ancestor means that humans once copulated with monkeys. Barash then
celebrates the possibility that current technology will allow the production
of animal-human hybrids, because the production of chimeras would, in his
view, provide a dose of "biological reality" for fundamentalist
know-nothings. Barash's column illustrates the pseudo-scientific superiority
that many prominent academics claim, as well as the contempt they frequently
display towards religious believers [When
Man Mated Monkey]
A website in the United Kingdom, DrThom, will offer the morning-after pill
to women in advance of need. The service demonstrates that imagination and
will can provide means of distributing the drug without the need to coerce
conscientious objectors. [The Daily Telegraph, 15 July, 2006]
The Salzburg Provincial Court has been ordered by the Austrian Supreme Court
to hear the case of a w31 year old oman who is suing a doctor, alleging that
she was unable to abort her daughter, now nine years old, because he did not
give her sufficient details about the risk of the child having Down's
syndrome. If the court finds against the doctor he may be forced to support
the child for the rest of her life. This kind of suit can bring pressure to
bear on health care workers who object to eugenic screening.
British Health Minister Carolyn Flint plans to eliminate a legal requirement
that in vitro fertilization be restricted to families with fathers in order
to make IVF available to lesbians and single women. [The Telegraph, 13 July,
2006] Meanwhile, British MP Dr Evan Harris is leading an effort to compel
fertility clinics to provide treatment to single women and lesbians. [The
Guardian 3 July, 2006] [Ananova 3 July, 2006] [The Scotsman 3 July, 2006].
Both developments suggest the potential for conflicts of conscience among
those who do not accept the government's ideas about child-rearing.hing but
"medical" reasons.
Despite the experience of extreme coercive measures taken in China to
enforce a one-child policy, Sustainable Population Australia (SPA) wants a
one-child policy to be imposed in all nations. worldwide. SPA President Ian
Macindoe compared the earth and its human population with a sheep station
being overgrazed by too many animals. [ABC News, 11 July, 2006]
6 July, 2006
European Court decision notifies Irish judiciary of expectation to expand
Irish abortion law
A woman has lost a civil action against the Irish government in the
European Court of Human Rights. She aborted a surviving twin at about 24
weeks gestation in England after the first twin died
in utero and the
survivor was diagnosed with a severe genetic disorder, Trisomy 18 (Edward's
Syndrome). She sued the Irish government, claiming that Irish law denied her
rights under the European Convention on Human Rights by restricting her
access to abortion. Abortion is legal under Irish law only if there is "real
and substantial risk to the life of the mother." The European court decided
that she had not made sufficient effort to obtain an abortion in Ireland
before going to the UK. It also held that the law in Ireland was flexible
enough to have permitted her to obtain an abortion there in her
circumstances. In effect, it appears that the Court was of the view that the
Irish judiciary could have made a ruling equivalent to
Roe vs. Wade
in the United States, at least with respect to abortions for eugenic
purposes. The news release from the court strongly suggests that the failure
of the Irish judiciary to order an abortion would have resulted in a
successful appeal to a European tribunal. A change in the Irish abortion
law, whether imposed by judicial fiat or enacted by statute, would have a
significant impact on the medical profession, since most obstetricians
object to abortion for reasons of conscience. This is particularly so with
respect to eugenic abortions, which are usually performed at fairly advanced
stages of pregnancy. [
News
release from the Registrar, European Court of Human Rights]