On Monday, January 15, CLF made written submissions to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA) concerning proposed revisions to its Conscientious Objection standard.
CLF urged the CPSA not to mandate physician participation in euthanasia or assisted suicide (MAID) through “effective referrals”, especially in light of Bill C-7's expansion of MAID to patients who are not dying and soon (unless Parliament intervenes before March 17, 2024) to those whose sole underlying condition is mental illness.
While the CPSA has recently indicated it will not use the term “effective referral” in the updated policy, CLF expressed concern that, should a similar process by a different name be implemented, it may still force health care professionals to act against their conscience, undermining medicine for all.
CLF explained that any policy forcing physicians to take positive action contrary to their professional conscience can expose them to immense moral distress and undermine the quality of healthcare by decreasing diversity and representativeness.
CLF also emphasized that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms does not mandate effective referrals. Most provinces currently do not require doctors to participate in morally fraught procedures like MAID, respecting the fact that some have a clinically-informed and evidence-based conscientious objection to such procedures.
Rather, the Charter requires accommodation for conscience, especially in light of the significant expansion of MAID in recent years. Health regulators must support patients with disabilities, many of whom already face the challenges of ableism in healthcare and have decried the expanded MAID regime, and who seek care from physicians who – without exception – oppose death as a “solution” for disability-related suffering.
“Physicians who hold the ethical conviction that a medically administered death is not an appropriate “treatment” for non-life-threatening conditions are uniquely equipped to support and reassure Canadians with disabilities who feel targeted and unsafe in a system that all too often fails to adequately support them. The accommodation of conscientious objectors would thereby strengthen the representativeness of Alberta’s medical profession by fostering greater inclusivity and accessibility to healthcare for marginalized Albertans.”
Further reading
CLF’s submissions to the CPSA
When is suicide considered “rational”? Policy Options article
Prioritize supports, not death, for mental illness - CLF submissions to Parliament’s AMAD Committee
Faith-based health care offers vital access to medical assistance in living - The Hub article
CLF Submissions to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Advocating for freedom of conscience globally - CLF submissions to the World Medical Association