Canadian pro-life physicians group blasts plan for forced participation in euthanasia, abortion
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(LifeSiteNews) – The medical regulatory college in charge of doctors and nurses in Alberta drafted plans that aim to mandate all healthcare workers in the province, including physicians and their assistants, many of whom are pro-life, be in effect forced to be complicit in abortions or assisted suicides.
As noted in a recent blog by Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) director of communications Pete Baklinski, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA) has proposed to update its official Standards of Practice with new wording that would target pro-life doctors and nurses.
If the new standards are fully implemented, doctors and nurses would be forced to participate in Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) and abortion.
According to the CPSA’s proposed update to its new standards, doctors must “proactively maintain an effective referral plan for the frequently requested services they are unwilling to provide,” which would include abortion or MAiD. Additionally, the proposed update also states that doctors “must not … expose patients to adverse clinical outcomes due to a delayed effective referral.”
The CPSA’s “effective referral” proposals have been blasted by pro-life doctor groups.
The Canadian Physicians for Life (CPL) in a recent email to its supporters took issue with the CPSA’s “effective referral” proposals, saying, “We encourage you to write to the CPSA Council indicating that you oppose the compulsion of ‘effective referral’ in this policy,” CPL executive director Nicole Scheidl said.
“Alberta already has a solid framework for patients to access services they are looking for without mandating that doctors violate their professional judgment,” she added.
Additionally, the Alberta Committee for Conscience Protection (ACCP), a group that represents physicians in the province, blasted the proposal.
“We are hoping that we can send a clear message to the CPSA Council that the introduction of the term ‘effective referral’ that was added to the draft policy is not acceptable to many physicians and concerned members of the public,” the ACCP stated in a communication to its members.
As it stands in Alberta, doctors and nurses are not mandated to participate in or be complicit in abortions or euthanasia.