Catholics denounce move to curb doctors' objections to abortions
By Simon Caldwell (Catholic News Service)
LONDON (CNS) -- Catholic officials have denounced proposals made by the British Medical Association that would strip them of their right to refuse to arrange abortions.
"The right of conscience is a fundamental human right. ... The doctor's right to act according to his conscience remains firmly embedded both in medical practice and in the law," said Archbishop Peter Smith of Cardiff, Wales, in a July 1 statement to Catholic News Service. Archbishop Smith is head of the Department of Christian Responsibility and Citizenship of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales.
Under the proposals, doctors would no longer be able to conscientiously object to authorizing abortions but will be compelled to send any woman requesting the procedure directly to an agency or a physician offering the procedure.
It is expected that the move will be discussed by the association's policymaking body July 10 at its annual general meeting.
But Catholic medics said they would argue at the meeting that it would be unlawful to deny them a right of conscientious objection that is enshrined in Section 4 of Britain's 1967 Abortion Act.
"This would spell the death of the rights of conscience," Dr. Tony Cole of the Catholic Medical Association told CNS June 27. He said the proposal is unlawful and can be challenged.
"A doctor whose conditions of service (were) affected by this might be able to seek redress through the courts," he said.
Dr. Majid Khatme of the Islamic Medical Association said Muslim doctors were also "very unhappy" about the proposal.
"The conscience clause should not be removed," he said in an interview with CNS June 29. "You cannot force me, as a doctor, to do things against my conscience. Something very dangerous is going on."
The proposals, initiated by the Oxford division of the association, insist that doctors "must refer" any woman to a doctor who will arrange an abortion if they will not do so themselves.
Copyright (c) 2008 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops