| Written by Sheila Dabu, The Catholic Register,
|
Views : 536  |
 TORONTO - The Ontario Human Rights Commission, in aiming to force doctors to perform certain procedures that are against their moral or religious beliefs, is ignoring the constitutional rights of pro-life doctors, say several Catholic groups.
The commission posted a mid-August online document where it said “doctors, as providers of services that are not religious in nature, must essentially ‘check their personal views at the door’ in providing medical care.”
“A physician’s refusal to provide a service or accept a patient on the basis of a prohibited ground, such as sex or sexual orientation, is prima facie discrimination, even if the refusal is based on the physician’s moral or religious belief,” it continued.
Joanne McGarry, executive director of the Catholic Civil Rights League, said the commission is overstepping its boundaries.
“That violates the doctor’s fundamental rights of freedom of religion and freedom of conscience,” she said.
The political push over the years to legalize euthanasia in Canada has serious implications upon a doctor’s duties, McGarry said, referring to the latest attempt in the House of Commons on June 12 via a private member’s bill introduced by Bloc Quebecois MP Francine Lalonde which aims to legalize doctor-assisted suicide.
The commission’s statement was in response to a draft policy by the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons which seeks to harmonize its policies with the Ontario Human Rights Code.
The college requested input about the proposed changes in late June where the college wrote “there will be times when it may be necessary for physicians to set aside their personal beliefs in order to ensure that patients or potential patients are provided with the medical treatment and services they require.”
This proposed policy change was met with vocal opposition by several Catholic organizations, not only because of its effect upon doctors but also because the College only provided a short window of opportunity for input. It called for submissions in its June 2008 newsletter and set an Aug. 15 deadline. But after several written responses from concerned Catholic groups who requested an extension, the deadline was pushed back to Sept. 12.
Dr. Will Johnston, executive director of the Canadian Physicians for Life, said the policy could severely limit the freedom of Ontario physicians to practise according to their conscience. He said he disagreed with the commission’s interpretation of what a doctor’s role is.
“Their vision of the practice of medicine could be performed by a technician under the complete control of the state,” Johnston said during a telephone interview from Vancouver. “And that’s not the traditional understanding of the practice.”
He said doctors also exercise their professional judgment, not only their scientific knowledge, adding that the doctors he has spoken to are “universally irritated” by the commission’s position.
“If you look at half the question, you have half a doctor there,” Johnston said.
Jeff Poirier, spokesperson for the Ontario Human Rights Commission, said doctors provide a public service not tied to any religion or religious preference, which is why the commission views a doctor’s denial or refusal to refer a patient to a medical service or procedure based upon their religious beliefs to be a form of discrimination and grounds for a human rights complaint. Denying a service based upon religious grounds is problematic for small towns or a small doctor’s practice where patients face limited options for physician care, he added.
But Poirier said there could be a way to accommodate a doctor’s religious beliefs within a larger institution where certain doctors are designated for particular services and would not have to deal directly with patients requesting a service to which a doctor objects.
“There are no absolute answers in the policy or guidelines because when rights come into conflict, it’s going to really depend upon the particular situation at hand,” he said.
Moira McQueen, director of the Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute, said the commission is taking a “heavy-handed” approach. Heated debates about abortion and euthanasia indicate that society is divided on these issues, she said.
Yet the commission is making its own moral judgments about these morally divisive issues, McQueen added.
“How can you have rights and other people on the other side can’t?” she said.
Recommend this article... |
(0 vote)
