Answering Physicians’ Top 5 Legal Questions

In 2017, the medical students’ forum hosted by Canadian Physicians for Life included a question and answer session about legal issues. Albertos Polizogopoulos is lead counsel in the constitutional challenge to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) policy that demands effective referral for all morally contested services, including euthanasia and assisted suicide.  Phil Horgan, a Toronto lawyer, is President of the Catholic Civil Rights League, which jointly intervened in the case with the Faith and Freedom Alliance and Protection of Conscience Project.  Questions have been listed below with the corresponding time segments.  Links have been provided to background material concerning subjects covered in the answers.

1. How can physicians best disclose to their patients their conscientious objections?  (00:00-11:18)

2. What happens when a patient reports a physician to their college for exercising their right to conscientious objection?  (11:18-20:00)

3. How can conscience and religious rights be exercised, practically speaking?  (20:00-23:33)

4. Is there a sense that other provinces are just waiting to see what is going to happen with these current cases going on in Ontario? (23:33-34:35)

5. Can you comment on institutions?  Do they have rights themselves?   (34:45-40:15)

Leave a Reply
