Let it be known that freedom of conscience still matters

When patients are asked what they want in a doctor, a common response is compassion and integrity. Good doctors follow their convictions in trying to do what is right for their patient, and good doctors should not be separated from their consciences and humanity when caring for others.

Unfortunately, however, the integrity of physicians is under attack by the very organization that is supposed to promote good medicine in Ontario.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO), the body that grants licences to physicians to practise in Ontario, plans to drastically restrict the freedom-of-conscience rights of physicians. At present, the CPSO allows doctors to step aside when a patient requests a treatment or procedure that is in conflict with a doctor’s moral or religious beliefs. For example, a Catholic gynecologist could decline to perform abortions.