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Debates on euthanasia: The soul of medicine is on trial

By NZHPA
April 25, 2013
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Sinéad Donnelly Consultant in Palliative Medicine, Capital & Coast District Health Board (CCDHB), Wellington Adjunct Professor, School Biological Sciences, Victoria University, Wellington Senior Clinical Lecturer, Otago School of Medicine, Wellington This article was originally published in the Journal of the New Zealand Medical Association, 23-November-2012, Vol 125 No 1366 I come from a long line of doctors; since 1905, three generations and seven doctors. From my general practitioner grandfather I have …Read More

Conscientious Objection in New Zealand: Its Legal Status and Significance

By NZHPA
April 22, 2013
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Dr Catherine Hallagan BA MBChB Dip Obstetrics FRNZCGP April 2013 I will give a doctor’s view of the issues from a personal and professional perspective since the two are closely intertwined. My approach is to discuss: Conscience and Conscientious Objection New Zealand Laws relevant to Conscientious Objection Key Moments in my professional journey Conscientious Objection & Antenatal Down Syndrome Screening Programme Challenges that lie ahead 1/ What is Conscience? Conscience is …Read More

Freedom of Conscience and the Needs of the Patient

By NZHPA
April 20, 2013
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Sean Murphy – Administrator of the Protection of Conscience Project – www.consciencelaws.org Presented at the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Conference New Developments – New Boundaries Banff, Alberta (November 9-12, 2001) Sponsored by Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Alberta, and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Misericordia Hospital, Edmonton, Alberta. Introduction The presentation on fetal surgery caused me to reflect upon what might happen, some time in the …Read More

A Life Story – A tribute to Dr John Crowley

By NZHPA
April 4, 2013
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Below are excerpts from a eulogy given in honour of Dr John Crowley. He was an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist from the Manawatu who was a member of the New Zealand Health Professionals Alliance. He was a mentor to many colleagues and he always upheld the right to conscientious objection while following best practice guidelines in his care of patients. Tribute to John Crowley by Dr Murray Shaw, General Practitioner, Palmerston …Read More

Position Statement on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide

By NZHPA
February 23, 2013
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New Zealand Health Professionals Alliance Incorporated Te Hononga Mātanga Hauora o Aotearoa The New Zealand Health Professionals Alliance Inc (NZHPA) opposes euthanasia and assisted suicide. Euthanasia is the deliberate ending of a patient’s life by a health professional. Participation in this practice is unethical. It remains wrong, regardless of a request for it from a patient or their family/whānau. NZHPA supports retention of the current law which makes euthanasia and …Read More

Does euthanasia already happen in NZ?

By NZHPA
April 24, 2012
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Do hospitals and hospices already effectively practice euthanasia through administering pain relief or withholding medications? Radio New Zealand interviews Sinead Donnelly of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Palliative Medicine and Anne Morgan of Hospice NZ.

Medical Council drops abortion case

By NZHPA
November 30, 2011
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The cost of legal action has led the Medical Council to abandon its proposed statement on the advice doctors should give when they have a conscientious objection to abortion. Having spent more than $214,000 defending its draft statement in court, the council decided it must balance financial prudence with the desire to provide guidelines, chair John Adams says. The council will not continue its appeal against last year’s High Court ruling from …Read More

GP pleased Medical Council drops abortion statement appeal

By NZHPA
November 30, 2011
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Media statement: Dr Catherine Hallagan, a General Practitioner from Wellington and spokesperson for the New Zealand Health Professionals Alliance, told NZ Doctor that the NZHPA is very pleased that the Medical Council has abandoned its appeal. Dr Hallagan said that she had felt strongly about challenging the Medical Council’s draft statement on “Beliefs and medical practice”since first reading it in 2009. “I was shocked at what I read and I believed that …Read More

GP pleased Medical Council drops abortion statement appeal

By NZHPA
November 29, 2011
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Media statement from Catherine Hallagan Dr Catherine Hallagan, a General Practitioner from Wellington and spokesperson for the New Zealand Health Professionals Alliance, told NZ Doctor that the NZHPA is very pleased that the Medical Council has abandoned its appeal. Dr Hallagan said that she had felt strongly about challenging the Medical Council’s draft statement on “Beliefs and medical practice”since first reading it in 2009. “I was shocked at what I read …Read More

The Problem of Complicity

By NZHPA
November 29, 2011
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Sean Murphy – Administrator, Protection of Conscience Project – www.consciencelaws.org Introduction It appears that most people are willing to grant that a health care worker who has serious moral objections to a procedure should not be compelled to perform it or assist directly with it. However, many people find it more difficult to understand why some health care workers object to even indirect forms of involvement: why they might refuse to help …Read More