The Ontario appellate court released a decision yesterday unanimously upholding the right of doctors in the province to not provide euthanasia and abortion services they are morally opposed to.

In the decision of the case of Christian Medical and Dental Society (CMDS) v. College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO), all members of the court voted to uphold the CPSO policies on medical assistance in dying and human rights obligations, according to a release.

The CPSO policies state that physicians who conscientiously object to a procedure they feel is ethically compromising, can take "positive action" by referring patients to another willing and able doctor instead of performing the procedure themselves.

These "effective referrals" pertain to procedures such as euthanasia or assisted suicide and abortion.

The conclusion reached by the Court of Appeal found that the policies infringing the physicians' religious freedom by presenting them with a choice of violating their own convictions or abandoning their area of practice rather than facing prosecution for failing to. The infringement on religious freedoms of the physician that the decision presents, however, was deemed justifiable by the three members of the court.

A coalition between the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario (ACBO), and the Christian Legal Fellowship (CLF) expressed disappointment with the court's decision.

ACBO President and Bishop of London Ronald Fabbro sees the result of the court's as one that violates full refusal by a physician to provide services that are morally contradictory to their personal beliefs.

“This decision is a step backwards for conscience rights in our province. Of particular concern is the wording in the Court of Appeal decision which suggests that conscientious objectors pursue an area of medicine that is less controversial. We run the very real risk of losing many good physicians who entered the practice motivated by a desire to heal their patients which was rooted in their own personal beliefs."

Fabbro also lamented the lack of consistency for physicians in Ontario, comparative to rulings made on similar issues in other provinces.

"Across Canada and throughout the world, we have seen an appropriate balance struck between patient rights and those of health care providers. Sadly, this is not the case in our province.”