I was just remarking in the foyer that I had the great opportunity to be at a 40 days for
life kickoff in the United States some years ago, right outside a Planned Parenthood clinic
in the street, you know, at really kicking off what we're all about to do, which is to
witness to the dignity and sanctity of human life.
So I'm sure that's why you're all here, and I would certainly applaud you for that.
This work is very important, this work of witnessing out in front of abortion clinics.
And I'm here to say, I think we need to do more.
And the reason takes me back to January 2008.
So about nine years ago, the battlefield in medicine was laid out before me.
I was a third year medical student at that time, just fresh into my clinical rotations.
And you know, through, you know, just my basic formation in this area, I was told by a well
meaning family physician who was teaching me that the College of Physicians and Surgeons
of Ontario, where I was training, was trying to weed out people like me from practicing
family medicine.
So that was very encouraging, of course, you know, and I went home with a renewed enthusiasm
for practicing medicine.
And I had at that time intentions to practice family medicine, which I have obviously achieved
through some struggles, which don't have any, we don't have any time to go through all the
difficulties that come directly from that statement, which is the College of Family Physicians
of Ontario is trying to weed out doctors like me.
So that was what I started my clinical training on that, okay, this is what I'm up against
if it wasn't already obvious during the lectures where, you know, I might have been the only
person to raise my hand and say, well, what about, you know, the life of the child in
the womb?
Or what about, you know, the life of somebody at the end of life?
What about those considerations?
So those weren't met with much enthusiasm by my clinical classmates as well.
So I mean, what did I do to garner that kind of pushback from a clinical preceptor right
at the very start of my training, only one week into the clinical portion of my training?
You know, I certainly didn't do anything other than abide by one, my Catholic moral philosophy,
but even more basically than that, what I considered to be, as I knew it, the Hippocratic
Oath.
Okay, I was blessed at Queen's University to have a very good history of medicine professor
who in her enthusiasm for the history of medicine found us the oldest form of the Hippocratic
Oath that she could find, the oldest translation from the Greek, and took us out at night with
candles onto the shores of Lake Ontario where we could recite the oath.
And for me that was very meaningful, but unfortunately she prefaced that with, well, you know, if you
find any parts of this oath to be problematic to your worldview basically, well, just disregard
those.
So, you know, the oath doesn't carry much weight.
And that was in the very first days of medical school.
At the end of my clinical training, there was a different oath, but let me tell you,
these oaths are at most optional for the students and bearing little to no semblance to the
Hippocratic Oath.
And you know, in our context, I'm not going to read the whole Hippocratic Oath, but we
all might get this sense from the basic phrase, do no harm, and that physicians would abide
by that.
Now, nowhere in the oath does it use those words in combination do no harm, but as a
summary, it's really quite good.
But in our context, when we're talking about 40 days for life, when we're talking about
protecting life inside the womb, it's very clear.
And it says this.
It says, I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody if asked for it, nor will I make
suggestion to this effect.
Similarly, I will not give a woman an abortive remedy.
And that's from 2,400 years ago, and medicine was in a sense founded on this principle that
physicians are healers and not killers.
And as you can see today, we've got this very confused again.
So in the time of Hippocrates, he's saying, look, it doesn't matter if your enemy comes
and pays me twice as much before you come to your appointment, I'm not going to give
you the poison instead of the cure, right?
So that was the basis of physicians and patients trusting one another.
Now the University of Ottawa on their page, you look up Hippocratic Oath, what happens
in Canada here?
We see this statement.
We see the University of Ottawa saying, other views found in the Hippocratic Oath, such as
those on abortion and surgical practice, are not consistent with the beliefs of modern Western
secular societies.
And given the complexity of medicine in the 21st century, surely an ancient oath cannot
possibly encompass current values.
Therefore, the significance of the Hippocratic Oath doesn't reside in its specific guidelines,
but just really a symbolism of an ideal that we are going to be selfless and dedicated
to the preservation of human life.
So interestingly, at one hand, it says we're going to be selfless and dedicate ourselves
to the preservation of human life.
And then on the other hand, it's saying, well, except for all that killing that we're going
to be doing through abortion, it kind of glosses over that, like this is somehow out
of the context of current Western values.
And I would say that we really need to let these institutions know that they're out of
touch with what it really means to be involved in the practice of medicine and the preservation
of human life.
McMaster University goes on to say, while the original oath was taken as a binding covenant,
to many physicians, the oath is now just a nod to tradition and devoid of any influence
on them and modern medical practice.
So this is the kind of language that's used to preface the oath today.
So you're really getting an entire culture in medicine where there are no foundational
principles for ethics, unfortunately.
So what are we to do?
McMaster University, interestingly, recites what is called the Declaration of Geneva.
And as my colleague was stating in his remarks related to the United Nations, this Declaration
of Geneva came out after World War II as a response to the atrocities that were committed
by the Nazi regime.
So surely those comments that, well, we have an antiquated oath, we can't take it seriously,
should be dissolved through this declaration of Geneva.
And this states even more specifically about the protection of human life.
And I quote, I will maintain the utmost respect for human life from the time of conception
and even under threat, I will not use my medical knowledge contrary to the laws of humanity.
I make these promises solemnly, freely, and upon my honor.
So for my adherence as a young physician, ideologically to these principles, I was told
that I was going to be weeded out from family medicine and even still more subspecialties
than that.
Not just family medicine, certainly the college wouldn't want to see me in obstetrics or
pediatrics or neonatology or palliative care or a number of things.
So to have myself limited by solely adhering to both ancient and modern oaths on the foundation
of medical ethics, I just found that to be a pretty discouraging point to be in.
Now how did we get here, what was it about me that brought this attention on me and why
didn't I have more respectful physician teachers available to me?
And I think that it's really because of the silence overall in the medical community about
the departure from the foundations of medical ethics.
So in the generations preceding me, we've had physicians say, well, I'm just going to
keep my head down and not stir the pot too much, not say anything about abortion, not
be public about the fact that I don't prescribe contraceptives and just get through my training
and go off on my merry way.
And that left a lot of physicians in positions of power that were emboldened to try to say
things that they were going to weed physicians out like me.
So I'd like to challenge all of you out here, maybe not as physicians, but as patients.
If you're well-formed in the culture of life, make sure that when your physician says something
that's deeply offensive to your genuinely and justly held beliefs on the dignity of
sanctity of human life, challenge them on that.
I hear many, many anecdotes of contraception and abortion being pushed on patients, doctors
badgering them and giving them just so many difficulties.
I would like to see the same kind of attention that's brought on physicians like myself for
our firm stance for life to be brought on these physicians who seem to have a firm stance
against life.
So many of you may have an idea, oh yeah, that happened to me in the past.
I'm not saying, well, let's judge up things against physicians from years ago, but make
a complaint to the college that somebody wasn't respecting your beliefs.
Make it obvious to those people in power that you want physicians who respect life from
conception to natural death, and that's what you see fit as a physician and nothing else.
So if I could point you in some right directions to check out a website called thehypocraticregistry.org,
it's just hypocraticregistry.com, I can have it sent out through the 40 Days for Life website.
That's where physicians such as myself who said, we're going to take the oath of Hippocrates
and actually hold to it, you can find out who they are and there's a number in Canada
and the numbers are growing.
In addition to that, certainly if you're, as I mentioned, if you're looking for more
guidance in this area, I'm happy to take any request through the diocesan website and the
Calgary Catholic Medical Association about physicians who may be able to guide you through
difficulties with life, beginning of life and end of life decisions.
So that's certainly through the life and family office at the diocese.
But please don't be silent.
As you're doing this in the 40 Days for Life, remember that these things are happening because
physicians have abandoned their oath on their honor to protect life from conception to natural
death.
God bless you, and I hope I'm able to see you out on the street at some point during
40 Days for Life.
Thank you.
Thank you.
