Madam Speaker, I notice the member is now back in the House. On that basis I am prepared to debate the bill.
I am disappointed that members of his own party, who feel very strongly about this, are not here to support the member. I know the member's intentions are good and I am going to mention some of them in my speech.
The bill was introduced in the first session of this parliament. At that time it was Bill C-461. It is a non-votable bill. It seeks to protect the right of health care practitioners and other persons to refuse without fear of reprisal or other discriminatory coercion to participate in medical procedures that offend a tenet of their religion or their belief that human life is inviolable. There is nothing wrong with that intention at all.
Prohibition of coercion by health care employers, educators and professional associations, if found guilty, they are to be on a summary conviction. I am not sure what this bill does but I want to remind the House that the criminal code already includes clauses for the protection of medical practitioners.
The point has to be taken as well in this debate that the Canadian Medical Association's own code of ethics as well as the physicians' charter both include stipulations that afford health care practitioners, and the important phrase is health care practitioners, the right to not perform procedures with which they disagree. That is already in their code and charter.
The preamble to the physicians' charter is important. This is what every doctor in the country lives by. The preamble states:
The goal of Canadian physicians, in partnership with their patients, is to provide the best health care possible. This Charter expresses what Canadian physicians need to achieve this goal.
It complements the Canadian Medical Association's policies and the Canadian Medical Association's Code of Ethics, which outlines the responsibilities of physicians to patients, society, the medical profession and themselves.
Through this preamble the physicians are reminded that although they have a tremendous duty to their patients, the medical community and the rest of society, they also are responsible to themselves, above all. That means that physicians are exempt—an important word—from performing procedures that go against their own personal values.
In addition to that—and this is important to remember—physicians can and often do refer patients to other doctors or health care practitioners in order for them to get the care they desire or deserve. A physician can refer to other physicians.
In section 2 of the physicians' charter, clause 7 states that physicians need to be able to practise medicine in accordance with professional and personal standards within the bounds of the Canadian Medical Association's code of ethics. Through this stipulation within the physicians' charter, health care providers have their rights and personal values protected. The key word is protected.
The charter deals with a quality of life for Canadian physicians. It states that physicians in this country have to be able to balance the demands of their profession with their own need for quality of life and personal health maintenance. Therefore, clause 18 within that section states that physicians need to be free from harassment, discrimination, intimidation or violence, both in training and in practising medicine.
Coercion, as mentioned in this bill, has already been dealt with through that section of the physicians' charter.