Physicians and the Ontario Human Rights Code

by | July 13, 2014
9 Comments

UPDATE:  If the highlighted link at “Complete a brief online survey concerning the current policy” results in the message “Thanks for completing this survey,” it’s because I already completed the survey. Go to http://policyconsult.cpso.on.ca/?page_id=3403 to access the survey.

This year, physicians in Ottawa and Calgary have been in the news for refusing to prescribe birth control pills. This decision has, of course, sparked outrage by those who think that physicians should not let their religion or personal opinions affect the way they treat their patients.

BCPThe College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, the body that regulates the practice of medicine to protect and serve the public interest, is listening:

The College’s Physicians and the Ontario Human Rights Code policy is currently being reviewed.

The College would like your feedback on the current policy. You can

Please complete the survey and add your vote to the 5,875 people who think a physician should NOT be allowed to refuse to provide a patient with a treatment or procedure because it conflicts with the physician’s religious or moral beliefs.

9 thoughts on “Physicians and the Ontario Human Rights Code”

  1. Jeff

    Doctors should never deny healthcare for non-medical reasons. Jesus or Allah is not a reason to deny medical care.

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  2. Christine Reece

    A medical professional’s job relates to health care, not religion. Medical treatment should reflect best healthcare practices and the patient’s needs, not the personal beliefs of the practitioner.

    If someone has that much trouble with exactly ONE facet of the medical profession (i.e., women and birth control), they require evaluation for discriminatory practices. There’s a whole slew of medical practices that contravene various religious beliefs, and it’s a violation of basic human rights to affirm that this one Christian belief should be given supremacy over all people.

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  3. Tim Larmour

    Veronica, the link to the online survey takes me to a Survey Monkey page at the end of the survey but it doesn’t look like we can start to complete this specific survey from this point. Can you provide a link to the beginning of the survey? Thanks…

    Tim

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  4. Fred Smith

    Doctors should never deny healthcare for non-medical reasons. Jesus or Allah is not a reason to deny medical care

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  6. Diana MacPherson

    I filled in the survey. I was half asleep after a busy work day but I basically repeated this comment throughout:

    There should be NO religious discrimination as is clear in the Ontario Human Rights Code. The policy should not contradict the Ontario Human Rights Code – doing so is confusing and opens up physicians (rightly) to Human Rights violations and lawsuits.

    Just as the policy explicitly states that “physicians cannot make decisions about whether to accept individuals as patients, whether to provide existing patients with medical care or services, or whether to end a physician-patient relationship on the basis of the individual’s or patient’s race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, family status and/or disability” the policy should include religion and values in this list.

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  7. Ultra

    The problem is there are lots of ethically questionable medical procedures…

    Hymen replacement
    Gender selective abortion
    Extreme plastic surgery
    Experimental treatment
    Euthanasia of chidren
    Genetic manipulation

    Personal ethics do come into play a lot.

    Reply ↓

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