Conscience rights bill for medics passes second reading
from SPUC:
A bill seeking to protect the conscience rights of all medical professionals has received its second reading today in the House of Lords.
Baroness O’Loan introduced the Conscientious Objection (Medical Activities) Bill, which seeks to clarify the law to ensure that medical professionals are not discriminated against because of conscientious objection to practices that end human life.
The bill refers specifically to participation in abortion (including indirect participation), withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, and any activity under the provisions of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act.
Pro-lifers pushed out of medicine
Baroness O’Loan argued that it is becoming increasingly difficult for many doctors, nurses, midwives, pharmacists, and other medical professionals to work in some areas of healthcare without being pressured to compromise their beliefs. Many young doctors, she said, feel that they simply cannot pursue a career in obstetrics and gynaecology, because they believe it will be impossible to advance their careers if they object to participating in abortion.
Spurred by Scottish midwives case
Although the 1967 Abortion Act allows for conscientious objection, a 2016 inquiry found that in practice, some doctors and nurses face discrimination in the workplace due to their refusal to participate in practices that end a human life. The conscience rights of midwives were also undermined by the 2014 Supreme Court judgment against Scottish midwives Mary Doogan and Connie Wood, which held that the conscience provision in the Abortion Act 1967 did not cover aspects of their employment…
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