The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) is currently reviewing its policy which accords doctors the right to refuse to treat a patient based on religious or moral grounds in non-life threatening situations.
While at first I was in favour of this re-evaluation, I have since come to realize that this situation is not a simple one.
I initially thought that this policy change could stop a doctor from denying a woman contraception or an abortion, and stop any discrimination based on homophobia, racism, or sexism; it seemed to allow for more respect and equity toward everyone.
But there is a question lingering in the back of my mind: have we forgotten the rights of the health professional? And if so, could that make them less effective at their work? Forcing someone to undertake a task that they find to be incompatible with their moral beliefs doesn’t seem to be the right course of action.
Carolyn McLeod, a philosophy professor at the University of Western Ontario, is part of a research team studying conscientious objections in health care — the team plans to submit their work to the CPSO as a part of its review.
She explained to The Globe and Mail, “We argue that [doctors] need to provide referrals for health services that they morally object to, [and] we talk about the importance of not demeaning or humiliating a patient while they’re refusing to provide the service the patient seeks.”
She has the right idea here. By denying the right to refuse treatment, we could prevent some doctors from doing their jobs to the best of their ability. Furthermore, doctors, regardless of their decision to treat the patient themselves, should be responsible seeing have that their patient receives the proper care.
To force a doctor to do something they don’t agree with is to make many situations too methodical, to take the humanity out of the situation. A textbook or machine can outline what’s wrong with you and what the possible solutions are, but there is a reason we don’t completely rely on that kind of objective discretion. There is comfort in knowing that you are being handled by a person who cares about their decisions and the outcomes.
If a doctor is biased by beliefs that are against what the patient desires, then their treatment options will be made under that shadow of doubt. Medicine is a science and in the end a medical decision should be based on scientific reasoning, not on the will of God or any other belief system. Doctors should feel obligated to think beyond this, and give a referral if they don’t agree with a procedure.
All doctors should be aware going into the profession that they will be working with all kinds of people, and that sometimes they will have to make decisions that they may feel uncomfortable with. If it is going to be a common problem, then maybe they should consider another profession.
Doctors need to care about the outcomes of their choices in order to provide their patients with confidence. And while they should have the right to do so, any doctor should be very careful about denying treatment to a patient. We put ourselves in a position of vulnerability with our doctors, and they shouldn’t forget that. They are, after all, there to provide medical aid, not judgement.
