Thank you very much.
This presentation will be brief. I represent obstetricians, gynecologists, and family physicians in Canada. Our members are responsible for the care of the majority of pregnant women in Canada.
The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, or SOGC, is committed to promoting free and informed choice. We consider that consent and the right to withdraw consent should be the operative principle at all times and in all issues of gamete and embryo donation.
The SOGC endorses the requirement for two written documents in relation to the consent process. The first document should be a disclosure document attesting to the fact that there was full disclosure about the current options for the use of human reproductive material and human in vitro embryos. It should also include the rules for withdrawal of consent. A second document should be a consent document used to record consent, setting out the specific consent of individuals involved.
The SOGC is of the view that the withdrawal of consent must always be possible and believes the donors of human reproductive material should be allowed to change their minds, including where a third party acknowledges in writing that the material has been designated for their reproductive use.
The SOGC is concerned that there is a possibility that donors will be unable to withdraw their consent. General principles of consent to treatment require that physicians recognize that withdrawal of consent is a legitimate request at any time. No physician would force the woman to continue with ovarian stimulation. The SOGC believes clinicians should honour a woman's choice to withdraw her consent and should not ignore her revocation of consent.
In this document we do not comment on the debate around fresh and frozen embryos, as we believe this issue will probably come up in another part of the regulations. We feel that today is specific to consent.
In conclusion, the SOGC continues to support the Assisted Human Reproduction Agency of Canada as well as the Assisted Human Reproduction Act. The SOGC remains in agreement with the proposed regulations.
Thank you.