The health spokespersons of both Fine Gael and Labour have questioned the right of a Catholic fertility doctor at Galway Clinic to treat only married couples.
According to yesterday’s Dail Mail Fine Gael’s James Reilly (pictured) said he disagreed with the doctor’s stance.
He stated: “I would not agree with that [pro-marriage] ethos at all. If a doctor has religious beliefs that dictate medical practice, then the onus is on that doctor to refer the patient to another doctor for treatment.”
In today’s Dail Mail, Labour’s Jan Sullivan says Dr Phil Boyle could be in breach of equality legislation.
She says: “Under the Equal Status Act 2000, individuals cannot be discriminated against because of their family status, so he could be breaking the law by refusing to treat unmarried mothers and fathers.”
Dr Boyle was before a hearing [1] of the Fitness to Practice Committee of the Medical Council last week because he would not accept a cohabiting couple for fertility treatment in accordance with his Catholic beliefs. Galway Clinic is a Catholic hospital.
He was cleared of the charge of ‘professional misconduct’ on a technicality.
The long-accepted practice internationally is that doctors can refuse to offer non-emergency treatment to individuals on grounds of conscience. However, in recent years there have been growing attempts to curtail this right in the name of ‘anti-discrimination’.
The Irish Constitution gives special protection to the family based on marriage. Despite this, the Equal Status Act does not allow ‘discrimination’ on the basis of marital status.
According to the British Millennium Cohort Study, cohabiting parents break up twice as often as married parents.