Draft raises ethical issues for doctors

Doctors are faced with many ethical issues. In the article I read, a draft policy was under review by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan does not require doctors who refuse to perform an abortion to refer patients to one who will. A physician with an ethical objection to referring a patient for an abortion would not be obligated to refer a patient to an obstetrician who will perform an abortion," the draft policy says. The draft policy uses the case of abortion as one example, although it also covers a broad range of dilemmas, with the exception of doctor-assisted suicide. The college received about 4,400 public responses to the initial draft between January and March. Most were form letters from pro-life or Catholic groups, Salte said. A few doctors' groups were concerned the January draft infringed on their rights to exercise their consciences. Other physicians raised "very significant problems" with how doctors handled birth control and abortion, inappropriately depriving patients access to those services, Salte said.

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