CANADA
Erin O'Toole on referral by practitioners opposed to euthanasia, abortion, etc.
Would-be Conservative Prime Minister: "they will have to refer"
Transcript of statements made during 2021 election media conference
Q) Liberals say doctors have a moral obligation to refer patients for services like abortion, gender affirmation surgery, medical assistance in dying. Not just an obligation to help or conduct these procedures, but to refer them as well, to refer patients to other professionals. So, do you support the rights of health care professionals to not have to refer these services? Yes or no. . . .
continue reading
Outline of government proposals and rationale
(September, 2013)
In
Quebec, the issue of religious
accommodation is still not resolved. In her inaugural
speech, Prime Minister Pauline
Marois recalled that the issues
raised by the "crisis" of reasonable accommodations
were outstanding. The government has a firm
commitment to clarify them. The proposals we submit meet this commitment . . .
continue readingGovernment policy document (September, 2013)
Governmental guidelines for managing
applications for religious accommodation,
affirmation of the values of Quebec society and the secular nature of the state institutions. . .
continue readingPreliminaries to the Charter: Implications of state sovereignty over education, religion and
ethics
Sean Murphy | . . .Will the government of Quebec - sooner or later - use its
Charter of Values to suppress freedom of conscience and religion among health care
workers? An answer to the question is suggested by a review of the Quebec government's continuing efforts to establish state
hegemony in the moral and ethical education of children. . .
continue readingPromises, promises
Canadian law reformers promise tolerance, freedom of
conscience
Sean Murphy | With the passage of the Quebec euthanasia law and the pending case of
Carter v. Canada in the Supreme Court of Canada, physicians, medical
students, nurses and other health care workers opposed to euthanasia and
assisted suicide for reasons of conscience are confronted by the prospect
that laws against the procedures will be struck down or changed. They
may wonder what the future holds for them if that happens. . .
continue reading
College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario
Consultation on Physicians and the Human Rights Code (Ending 5 August, 2014)
Sean Murphy | An unknown number of respondents contributed through more than one of the consultation feedback portals (On-line Poll, On-line Survey, Discussion Forum, email, regular mail). It is not possible to derive from the totality of consultation feedback a single, accurate global number of responses with respect to questions of particular interest. . . On-line Survey responses do not support a policy of mandatory referral.
Rather, they indicate that mandatory referral is a highly controversial
subject. . .
continue reading
The SNC-Lavalin affair raises the issue of politicians’ conflict between their conscience and party politics.
There are good reasons to favour conscience.
Brian Bird | . . . Freedom of conscience promotes moral growth, for individuals and societies alike. Conscience, though inherently individual, is vital to the common good. In order to realize societies that are just and equitable, it is safe to say that freedom of conscience — especially for the people who govern and shape them — is nothing short of indispensable. . .
continue reading
UNITED STATES
White House Press Secretary downplays revolt against HHS
contraceptive mandate
The Obama adminstration
announced on 20 January, 2012, that it would proceed with plans
to force employers to pay for insurance coverage for
"contraceptive services" (which include surgical
sterilization and potentially embryocidal and
abortifacient drugs and devices). Various
religious groups protested strenuously. By the end of
the month, over half the Catholic bishops in the country
had denounced the plan; many said
they would refuse to comply with the law. A
reporter at the White House press briefing called
this "a pretty extraordinary situation."
What follows is an annotated extract of the
questions and answers on this topic during the news
conference. . .
continue reading
Abortion Ideology Trumps Aid for
Victims of Human Trafficking
Jonathon Imbody | . . . The decision to insist on submission to its abortion
ideology as a condition for federal grants illustrates the depth of the
administration's radical abortion policy and its increasingly obvious
disdain for conscience rights and religious freedom. . .
continue reading
In good conscience: rebuttal revisits arguments
Prof. David Crockett
|. . . If my column "shattered" the "sense of safety" of certain
individuals on campus, I would gently suggest they reexamine the place
of political discourse at a university.. . .
continue reading
Threats to freedom of conscience could have far-reaching consequences
Prof. David Crockett
|. . . alas, the assault on conscience has begun, led by various forces
in government, academia and pressure groups. The most common threats
come in the areas of health care, religious integrity and
nondiscrimination policies. . .
continue reading
Objectors shouldn't work in emergency rooms:
Massachusetts Attorney General
rejects accommodation of religious freedom
Radio interview | . . . "I would not. . . pass a bill
. . . to
say that if people believe that they don't want to provide services that are
required under the law and under
Roe vs. Wade that they can
individually decide to not follow the law. . ."
continue reading
The Right of Conscience in the Age of Obama
Daniel Allott
&
Matt Bowman | . . .The anti-conscience movement has increasingly targeted pharmacists.
According to Denise Burke of American United for Life, "The abortion
lobby...recognize[s] that if [it] can establish legal precedent to coerce
someone to violate their conscience regarding contraceptives, [it] can then
easily extend that legal precedent to [RU-486], to coerce medical students
to participate in abortion training, and to coerce doctors to participate in
surgical abortion."
. . .
continue reading
A Matter of Conscience: Obama weakens protections for medical professionals
opposed to abortion.
Marilyn Musgrave
&
Marjorie Dannenfelser
| . . .Many doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers will confront the
dilemma of choosing between their conscience and their call to serve fellow
citizens in our nation's hospitals and clinics. They will be forced to
either violate their conscience and keep their jobs, or respect their
beliefs and pay the price by leaving their careers. . .
continue reading
Response to threats against freedom of conscience posed by policies
of Obama administration
As a result of threats to freedom of conscience
in health care posed by the policies of the Obama administrations, in
September, 2009, a letter was sent to President Obama on behalf of over
50 conscience-supportive organizations represented by the Freedom2Care
coalition (
www.Freedom2Care.org).
It noted that over 10,000 healthcare professionals and other individuals
had signed a petition that included a statement of support for freedom
of conscience for health care workers.