Petition to: Theresa May
Ensure Conscientious Objection Rights for All Medical Professionals
Ensure Conscientious Objection Rights for All Medical Professionals
In the last few years, the right of medical professionals to conscientiously object to procedures which are destructive or potentially destructive of life has been under persistent attack and even eroded in some cases.
Last year, the General Pharmaceutical Council attempted to force pharmacists across Britain to dispense abortion inducing drugs against their conscience. Fortunately, due to a legal challenge, they were unable to enforce this draconian policy.
In 2014, two midwiveslaunched a legal challenge against their hospital which was attempting to force them to participate in abortions. They ultimately lost the case, as the court decided that conscience protections only extended to actually performing the abortion itself and did not cover other actions which materially support an abortion (e.g. organising the rota for when women are having abortions).
Now, Baroness O’Loan is bringing forward a Bill (the Conscientious Objection (Medical Activities) Bill) which will ensure that no medical professional will be obliged to participate in the provision of medical acts which they believe are destructive or potentially destructive of human life. This includes the withdrawal of end of life care, as well and the provision of abortion.
A 2016 cross party inquiry into freedom of conscience in abortion provision found that some medical professionals found themselves being discriminated against due to their moral beliefs in this field. No one should be forced to violate their own moral integrity except in the most extreme of circumstances as doing so is a serious attack on one’s personal identity and one’s ability to be the author of one’s own life.
This Bill is liberal, and does not seek to alter the current abortion law in any way but only to ensure that no medical professional is forced to perform a procedure which they believe are destructive of human life. This Bill is needed to ensure that medical professionals with conscientious objections are not forced out of their profession and it is also needed so that anyone thinking of becoming a medical professional is not prevented from doing so by a potentially coercive environment which may attempt to force them to violate their own moral convictions.
Please sign this petition to Theresa May PM, asking the Government gives time in this Parliamentary session for Baroness O’Loan’s Bill to pass through both Houses of Parliament, so that all Parliamentarians will be able to consider it, and hopefully pass it into law.
http://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Convention_ENG.pdf
http://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Guide_Art_9_ENG.pdf
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1967/87/section/4
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1990/37/section/38
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/section/10
http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/app/conversion/pdf/?library=ECHR&id=001-105611&filename=001-105611.pdf
https://www.supremecourt.uk/decided-cases/docs/UKSC_2013_0124_Judgment.pdf
http://www.comresglobal.com/polls/where-do-they-stand-abortion-survey/
https://www.chemistanddruggist.co.uk/feature/end-gphcs-conscience-clause
https://services.parliament.uk/bills/2017-19/conscientiousobjectionmedicalactivities.html