Appendix "C"

DRAFT STANDARD

RECOMMENDED CHANGES

Title

Conscientious Objection

Conscience in Medical Practice

Preamble

CPSA recognizes that regulated members have the right to limit the health services they provide for reasons of conscience, cultural belief or religion. Regulated members are expected to act in their patients’ best interest by providing enough information and assistance to allow them to make informed choices for themselves.

CPSA recognizes that moral/ethical decision-making is intrinsic to the practice of medicine, and that practitioners may sometimes receive patient requests that they must decline for reasons of conscience, cultural belief or religion. Regulated members are expected to act in their patients’ best interest by providing enough information and assistance to allow them to make informed choices for themselves.

Regulated members limiting the services they provide to patients for reasons of conscience, cultural belief or religion should do so in a manner that respects patient dignity, facilitates timely access to care and protects patient safety.

Regulated members must communicate and act upon their moral/ethical decisions in a manner that respects patient dignity, facilitates timely access to care and protects patient safety.

The purpose of this standard is to outline expectations for regulated members in balancing the ethical dilemmas that occur when one’s beliefs and ethics conflict with the ethical beliefs of patients

The purpose of this standard is to outline expectations for regulated members if they receive requests from patients for services or procedures that conflict with their moral/ethical/religious convictions or cultural beliefs.

§1. A regulated member must:

(f) proactively maintain an effective referral plan for the frequently requested services they are unwilling to provide.

(f) proactively maintain a plan to meet the expectations set by this standard in relation to the frequently requested services they are unwilling to provide.

§2. A regulated member must not:

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(e) express personal moral judgements about the patient’s request or choice

(d) in complying with Section 1(a) of this Standard or in other interactions with patients, promote his own moral/ethical beliefs or causes or attempt to convince a patient to adopt them.