Friday, February 1, 2019

Doctors cannot be neutral on assisted dying.

By Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

The Royal College of Physicians, in the UK, has set-up a sham vote to force assisted suicide neutrality upon its membership. Time after time, British physicians have voted to oppose assisted suicide legislation. In her opinion article, Doctors cannot be neutral on assisted dying, Dr Amy Proffitt hits the nail on the head when she writes:
Dr Amy Proffitt
Which brings us back to the Royal College of Physicians and its latest consultation. Activists have failed to get what they wanted before, so they have persuaded the college’s council to change the rules this time. Whereas previously the college adopted the view favoured by the majority of its members – that it should oppose legalisation – it now says it will adopt a position of neutrality unless at least 60 per cent say it should oppose or support legalisation. Yet in the last consultation only 31 per cent wanted the college to have a neutral position. This device is as arbitrary and nonsensical as it is politically-motivated. It reverses the burden of proof and sets the bar at a level which no group – support, oppose or don’t know – could possibly clear. The aim of activists is, of course, to present the resulting ‘neutrality’ to Parliament and the public as ‘doctors drop their opposition to assisted dying’.
Proffitt then points out that the Association of palliative medicine polled their members and found that 82% were against legalization and 89% would refuse to participate, if legal. Proffitt concludes by challenging the intentions of the Royal College of Physicians by stating:
This is a question that goes to the heart of clinical practice. For the Royal College of Physicians to tell the world that it has no position on the question of whether doctors should be licensed to aid and abet the suicides of patients is nothing short of astonishing and raises serious questions about the college’s governance. The college should reflect on its role as a medical professional body and not allow itself to be manipulated into playing politics.
British Medical Association rejects neutrality on assisted dying.

2 comments:

Janice Brown said...

YES, Doctors wh agree with assisted suicide are cokoe! How can they become a doctor when they have an oath to support life?
You have a CHOICE - CHOOSE LIFE FROM BIRTH TO DEATH!

Annie Law said...

Everyone has a conscience... one cannot be neutral on choosing to kill or choosing to heal. Your conscience does not have a neutral zone. The medical profession is filled with professionals who took an oath to do no harm...the Hippocratic oath. Assisting another to die is killing. Referring a patient to another doctor who will assist them in their death is accessory to their death. Our conscience is built in for a reason...to protect us from doing wrong and enabling us to do what is right and caring. No doctor or other medical professional should be put in this situation where they must choose any part of doing something that goes against their conscience. Even if a doctor already has and chooses to never do it again, he/she must be supported and be able to talk about his/her experience and how it affected them. They should be able to warn others against going against their conscience. I know that I, would not want anyone, doctor, nurse, or pharmacist near anyone I love if their conscience has been sheared and they are ok with assisted suicide. You cannot trust anyone who is ok with it. Why not? They will be ok with your death or the death of one of your loved ones. How many assisted deaths must they participate in before their conscience is sheared? This will be different for each person but it is a dangerous risk to take, and if already started, should stop while your conscience can be healed. This is the most unkind thing to ask or require of any medical professional and it is the scariest thing to wonder what would your doctor do? These days, and even in the past, one did not have to request help to die. There was always someone who felt a need to shorten some patients time against their will. That is where this is headed ...but in increasing deaths including those who want to live. Please help the doctors and other medical professionals to stand strong against assisting in this crime in any way. They are the real victims being used against their will. Try putting yourself in their place. They went into the profession because they have caring hearts and want to heal people but now are being coerced into assisting in others deaths and/or referring them to another professional who has a conscience in the process of being sheared. There is no choice there! Both go against a normal conscience. Pray for the medical profession that this assisted suicide law be banned for good. Give people in pain the proper medication to deal with their pain but do not kill them. The conscience of any medical professional needs to be put ahead of anyone who requests assistance. The patient should not have any rights over their doctor's conscience. That is evil to force someone to go against their God given conscience.