Irish Doctor Refuses Fertility Treatment to Unmarried Couple
I thought it'd make y'all feel better to know that other country have these problems too!
The following is excerpted from http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0415/1224268372829.html
"A DOCTOR has been brought before the Medical Council’s fitness to practise committee and accused of professional misconduct after declining, on religious grounds, to provide infertility treatment to a couple who were not married.
Dr Phil Boyle, who runs a fertility treatment practice in the Galway clinic, which has a Catholic ethos, declined to treat the couple due to his belief that only married people should have children.
His case came before a fitness to practise committee inquiry last week. While many doctors’ fitness to practise cases are now held in public, his case was heard in private. Cases may be heard in private if a patient who complains about a doctor applies for the inquiry to be in private, and if the inquiry team then accedes to this request.
Details of the case are reported in today’s issue of The Irish Catholic newspaper. [lol]
Dr Boyle, who could not be contacted yesterday, was ultimately found not guilty of professional misconduct.
The following is excerpted from http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0415/1224268372829.html
"A DOCTOR has been brought before the Medical Council’s fitness to practise committee and accused of professional misconduct after declining, on religious grounds, to provide infertility treatment to a couple who were not married.
Dr Phil Boyle, who runs a fertility treatment practice in the Galway clinic, which has a Catholic ethos, declined to treat the couple due to his belief that only married people should have children.
His case came before a fitness to practise committee inquiry last week. While many doctors’ fitness to practise cases are now held in public, his case was heard in private. Cases may be heard in private if a patient who complains about a doctor applies for the inquiry to be in private, and if the inquiry team then accedes to this request.
Details of the case are reported in today’s issue of The Irish Catholic newspaper. [lol]
Dr Boyle, who could not be contacted yesterday, was ultimately found not guilty of professional misconduct.
He was accused of refusing to treat a patient and of not referring the patient to another doctor. However, the committee accepted the couple had not become his patients, and that he was not given a chance to refer them to another doctor even if he had wanted to.
Dr Boyle offers a fertility treatment called NaPro Technology, which is fully compatible with the Catholic Church’s teaching on assisted human reproduction.
The Iona Institute, which promotes the place of marriage and religion in society, condemned the Medical Council’s treatment of the doctor.
It said Dr Boyle’s right to practise his profession in accordance with his conscience has not been recognised, and is not recognised in the Medical Council’s ethical guidelines.
Dr John Murray of the Iona Institute said: “We deplore the treatment of Dr Boyle by the Medical Council. He should never have been called before its fitness to practise committee. The fact that it heard a professional misconduct charge against him is simply grotesque.”
He added that Dr Boyle practises his profession in accordance with his Catholic convictions, and therefore he only offers his fertility treatment service to married couples. “The Medical Council must recognise his right to follow his conscience in this regard.
“By accepting this case, the council is saying, in effect, that physicians with long accepted religious beliefs are no longer fully welcome in the Irish medical profession. This represents a direct attack on freedom of religion and conscience.”
He added: “We believe there should be an immediate change to the ethical guidelines of the Medical Council to properly protect the right of conscientious objection, which is one of the most fundamental freedoms of any civilised society.”
The couple who complained to the Medical Council could now take their case to the Equality Authority on the grounds that Dr Boyle is in breach of the Equal Status Act, which outlaws discrimination in the provision of goods and services on the grounds of marital status. If he were found guilty and fined, the case could potentially find its way to the Supreme Court, where the constitutionality of the Equal Status Act may be tested.
The legislation currently makes no provision for freedom of religion and conscience, both of which are recognised as rights by Article 44 of the Constitution.
Dr Boyle offers a fertility treatment called NaPro Technology, which is fully compatible with the Catholic Church’s teaching on assisted human reproduction.
The Iona Institute, which promotes the place of marriage and religion in society, condemned the Medical Council’s treatment of the doctor.
It said Dr Boyle’s right to practise his profession in accordance with his conscience has not been recognised, and is not recognised in the Medical Council’s ethical guidelines.
Dr John Murray of the Iona Institute said: “We deplore the treatment of Dr Boyle by the Medical Council. He should never have been called before its fitness to practise committee. The fact that it heard a professional misconduct charge against him is simply grotesque.”
He added that Dr Boyle practises his profession in accordance with his Catholic convictions, and therefore he only offers his fertility treatment service to married couples. “The Medical Council must recognise his right to follow his conscience in this regard.
“By accepting this case, the council is saying, in effect, that physicians with long accepted religious beliefs are no longer fully welcome in the Irish medical profession. This represents a direct attack on freedom of religion and conscience.”
He added: “We believe there should be an immediate change to the ethical guidelines of the Medical Council to properly protect the right of conscientious objection, which is one of the most fundamental freedoms of any civilised society.”
The couple who complained to the Medical Council could now take their case to the Equality Authority on the grounds that Dr Boyle is in breach of the Equal Status Act, which outlaws discrimination in the provision of goods and services on the grounds of marital status. If he were found guilty and fined, the case could potentially find its way to the Supreme Court, where the constitutionality of the Equal Status Act may be tested.
The legislation currently makes no provision for freedom of religion and conscience, both of which are recognised as rights by Article 44 of the Constitution.
7 Comments
gwiz665Another abject failure in the eyes of the great Atheismo.
lampishthingYes, Atheismo will be very disappointed, by Vectron.>> ^gwiz665:
Another abject failure in the eyes of the great Atheismo.
Doc_MI don't understand why a couple would want a child and not a marriage. Do they assume that they'll break up? That would be seriously irresponsible parenting.
lampishthingThey may not want a church marriage on moral grounds. (An atheist or agnostic who gets married in a church is a liar due to the words of the ceremony.)
>> ^Doc_M:
They may simply feel that they don't need the approval of anybody to be a family. A relationship is a very personal thing and would exist even if there weren't any religions or nations. Marriage is just a label given by religions and nations and in reality (if you're not religious) means nothing beyond telling other people you're very committed to each other - you can do that without a wedding
I don't understand why a couple would want a child and not a marriage. Do they assume that they'll break up? That would be seriously irresponsible parenting.
Doc_M^ You don't need to be religious to get married. You can be married by a justice.
(Likewise, if a couple doesn't care for the government to be involved, they can have a ceremony without the official paper-work.) Other than all the obvious advantages of public, official marriage, it avoids some serious contractual gymnastics needed to have the rights a married couple have automatically.
Anyway, the couple should just find a doctor that WILL do the treatment. It's not that hard. There are a bazillion of them without religious and ethical considerations. Also, it's not like the catholic doctor denied them life-saving treatment. He refused to offer them a paid service that would circumvent their natural--if unfortunate--inability to have children.
brycewi19*health
siftbotAdding post to channels (Health) - requested by brycewi19.
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