Joyce Arthur - Conscientious Objections (to Abortion)

A global consensus has taken hold in the healthcare field that doctors who object to abortion and other reproductive healthcare for personal or religious reasons should be allowed to refuse to provide care. But measures to regulate the exercise of “conscientious objection” (CO) so that women can still have access to abortion have fallen far short. The result has been rampant abuse of the “right” to CO in many countries. In countries such as Italy, Poland, and Spain, a majority of Obstetricians/Gynecologists refuse to provide abortions or even refer women to another doctor. In this presentation, Joyce Arthur will explain why CO is unethical and harmful and should be eliminated from healthcare, and describe how she and others have been fighting to turn around the consensus in favour of CO – and making some progress! Joyce Arthur is the founder and Executive Director of the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada (ARCC), which protects the legal right to abortion on request and works to improve access to quality abortion services. She's a writer and activist. The BC Humanist Association was formed in 1984 and many of our members are not on Meetup. We have a regular attendance of about 30 people at our Sunday meetings (rather than the small number who RSVP on Meetup). Keep up to date with our current topics at http://bchumanist.ca