The culture of death brooks no dissent.
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan has published a draft ethics policy that would force doctors to perform abortions on demand–and presumably assisted suicide, if the Canadian Supreme Court creates a constitutional right this Friday (as I expect). From the policy statement:
Physicians can decline to provide legally permissible and publicly-funded health services if providing those services violates their freedom of conscience. However, in such situations, they must make a timely referral to another health care provider who is willing and able to accept the patient and provide the service.
But what if the doctor can’t find another doctor to kill? Then, he or she must do the deed:
When a referral to another health care provider is not possible without causing a delay that would jeopardize the patient’s health or well-being, physicians must provide the patient with all health services that are legally permissible and publicly-funded and that are consented to by the patient or, in the case of an incompetent patient, by the patient’s substitute decision-maker. This obligation holds even in circumstances where the provision of health services conflicts with physicians’ deeply held and considered moral or religious beliefs.
The key word is “well-being,” which can involve emotional upset, anxiety, inconvenience, etc.
So, abortion, assisted suicide, embryonic stem cell treatments (if they are ever developed), fetal farming procedures (if developed), transplanting organs taken from PVS patients (if allowed)–and the latter three are all under active discussion in bioethics–would be required of every doctor under this policy, regardless of moral belief.
Do we really want only people who are willing to kill to be doctors?
Hippocrates is crying.
Reprinted with permission from National Review Online.