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Forced Referral and Freedom of Religion Vs Freedom of Conscience

A recent court decision in Ontario missed the mark when it ignored the impact forced referral has on freedom of conscience.
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Forced Referral and Freedom of Religion Vs Freedom of Conscience
People rally against Bill C-14, the medically assisted dying bill, during a protest organized by the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on June 1, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Shawn Whatley, MD
Updated:

A recent court decision in Ontario missed the mark when it ignored the impact forced referral has on freedom of conscience.

On May 15, the Ontario appeals court ruled that doctors must give patients a referral for euthanasia, abortion, and other contentious issues, regardless of what an individual doctor thinks about them.

Shawn Whatley, MD
Shawn Whatley, MD
Author
Shawn Whatley is a practicing physician, author of “When Politics Comes Before Patients: Why and How Canadian Medicare is Failing,” and a senior fellow with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. He is also a past president of the Ontario Medical Association.
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